Miles City committee approves part-time HR role, moves payroll to Deputy Clerk with conditional raise

The Miles City Human Resources Committee voted Jan. 21 to recommend making the Human Resources Officer a part-time position by removing payroll responsibilities, assign payroll processing to the Deputy Clerk with a conditional $2.00-per-hour pay increase, and set the part-time HR pay rate at $21.00 an hour without benefits.

The action came after Committee Member Rick Huber said he contacted other employers about part-time HR roles and Mayor Chris Grenz noted that the payroll tasks in the current job description would make the position full-time. Chairperson Brooke Bartholomew cautioned recruiting could be difficult for a part-time-only posting. Committee Member Ed Pulecio moved the recommendation to remove payroll duties from the HR job description; the motion passed with Committee Members Rick Huber, Ed Pulecio, Brooke Bartholomew and Cody Steiner voting yea.

Deputy Clerk Tamara Ellsworth described her current workload on payroll: “In the beginning, due to all of the pay corrections that needed to be made, it was a lot to take on but with that done and over it has become easier except for the liabilities that need to be done after each pay period.” Ellsworth said that if she were responsible only for payroll processing, it would be feasible to handle alongside her other duties.

Following that discussion, the committee approved adding payroll duties to the Deputy Clerk position and a $2.00-per-hour pay increase for that role, retroactive to when payroll duties began. The body specified the $2.00 increase would remain only while the Deputy Clerk maintains payroll duties; if the Human Resources Officer position later returns to full-time and resumes payroll, the raise would end.

The committee also set the part-time Human Resources Officer hourly rate at $21.00 without employee benefits. City Clerk Rowe reported that the monthly cost of benefits is $892.00 and that including benefits for a part-time hire would require a substantially lower hourly rate; the committee noted an estimate of roughly $10.00 an hour if benefits were included. Members said they would reconvene and restore the payroll duties and a full-time classification if no applicants apply within a month.

The committee opened the meeting by electing Committee Member Brooke Bartholomew as chair; the nomination by Committee Member Ed Pulecio and second by Committee Member Rick Huber carried unanimously among the voting members present. The Human Resources Committee adjourned at 6:26 p.m.