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Council approves several personnel changes and debates part-time hiring rules
Summary
The council approved job-description consolidations and a sheriff's transport officer's move from part-time to full-time, and discussed whether to relax part-time hiring limits; members ultimately favored keeping current salary-ordinance controls.
The Whitley County Council approved a slate of personnel changes recommended by the personnel committee and debated county policy on part-time hiring.
Nick, reporting for the personnel committee, said the board recommended combining two shared job descriptions between the auditor and treasurer into a single position with an approximate $2,400 pay increase to place the job in KOMA-3. The council voted to approve the combination unanimously.
The council also approved amendments to two job descriptions so that the county GIS coordinator would report to the commissioners directly rather than the planning director; Nick said there was no salary change associated with that adjustment and the motion carried unanimously.
On a separate request from the sheriff's office, the council approved converting a part-time transport officer to full-time with benefits, effective the next pay period. Discussion focused on whether converting the existing part-time post to full-time would create an additional vacancy and on budget implications. A motion to approve the change passed unanimously. A council member asked whether converting the role would force the sheriff to open a new part-time vacancy; personnel said the department's budgetary controls and line-item allocations would prevent unplanned hires without council appropriation.
Members also debated broader changes to the salary ordinance that would allow departments greater flexibility to hire part-time staff within their budgeted lines. Paula Warden of Community Corrections described recruitment needs for seasonal and shift-based part-time workers: "We're struggling recruiting part-time staff for our residential facility...some of them only may be working seasonal or some of them only may be working a shift," she said.
Jennifer, speaking for payroll and administration, urged preserving structure for managing part-time slots, citing payroll complexity and liability considerations. Multiple council members said they preferred to "leave it as is" and address part-time positions and budgets during the annual budget-review process.
Next steps: Personnel items that passed will be implemented per the approved timelines; council members directed staff to handle salary-ordinance and part-time staffing questions in upcoming budget discussions rather than adopt an immediate policy change.
