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Rockingham County approves pay‑study phase 2 and immediate DSS staffing measures
Summary
The board approved phase two of the county pay study and authorized staff additions and overtime pay in the Department of Social Services after hearing that child‑in‑care caseloads rose to more than 175; full implementation is budgeted at about $1.2 million annually with a FY26 half‑year cost of roughly $604,000.
The Rockingham County Board of Commissioners voted Dec. 1 to implement the second phase of a countywide pay and compensation study and to approve immediate staffing and overtime measures for the Department of Social Services (DSS).
Olivia, a county staff presenter, told commissioners the market study covered about 170 job titles and roughly 300 filled positions; a one‑grade pay change was described as roughly a 5% salary change. The county estimated full implementation would cost about $1.2 million annually, and about $604,000 for fiscal 2026 because implementation would begin midyear.
Derek Southern, who identified himself as the Health and Human Services director/assistant county manager, said DSS caseloads have grown substantially. “When I became the HHS director, one of the first meetings I attended, we had 120 kids in care. And currently, right now, we have over 175,” Southern said, arguing the workload has outpaced staffing and that supervisors are carrying caseloads that should be managed by frontline social workers.
To address the strain, Southern asked the board to authorize an overtime pay approach for salaried employees working over 50 hours per week, add two social workers, add two social‑service technicians to handle transportation and logistics, and provide additional administrative support. He said the DSS portion of the request would cost roughly $325,000 in a full year and that about 50% of those costs could be reimbursed by state funds, yielding an estimated county share of about $162,000.
Commissioners pressed staff for benchmarks and implementation timing. The county reported an average caseload of about 15.7 per worker, and staff said the program aims to reduce that toward roughly 10 cases per worker. Commissioners asked the administration to return with detailed budget numbers during the upcoming budget cycle and to provide updates on hiring and space constraints that could affect implementation.
Commissioner Hall moved to approve implementation of the market study phase 2, associated retention adjustments, the updated pay plan, the DHS staff additions and overtime pay arrangements, and to authorize the county manager to make reasonable corrections; Commissioner Berger seconded the motion. The board approved the motion by voice vote.
Next steps include a formal budget change with the exact fiscal figures and continued staff reporting during budget deliberations.
