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Tuolumne supervisors approve higher advertised pay range for county counsel after recruiting shortfalls
Summary
After heated debate and public comment, the Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors approved staff27s recommendation to advertise a higher salary range for the county-counsel position to expand the candidate pool; the 32D2 vote directs HR to post the updated range and continue recruitment.
The Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors voted to authorize Human Resources to advertise an increased salary range for the county-counsel position after staff said previous recruitments failed to attract candidates willing to relocate to the rural county.
Karen McGettigan, the county27s human-resources and risk-management director, told the board the role is the county27s chief legal strategist and that two previous recruitments produced insufficient candidate pools. McGettigan said the executive search firm WBCP conducted an extensive outreach campaign and that pay was repeatedly cited as the principal obstacle to attracting experienced candidates.
"The county counsel is the chief legal strategist for the board of supervisors," McGettigan said. "Every major decision the county makes passes through the office of county counsel and through county counsel." She recommended raising the advertised range to bring candidates closer to market, noting neighboring counties advertised significantly higher top steps.
Board members and members of the public debated alternatives including shared or telework arrangements, one-time relocation incentives and expanding in-house staff instead of raising a single top-level salary. Supporters said the county had lost at least one viable candidate primarily for pay, while critics warned the increase could damage morale among lower-paid county employees.
"We had a viable candidate and we lost that viable candidate because of pay," the chair said during the discussion, urging the board to act swiftly to fill the critical position.
After substitute motions and discussion, the board approved the staff recommendation by a 32D2 roll-call vote. The board directed HR to advertise the updated salary range and proceed with the executive recruitment; McGettigan said the county27s posting must display the full salary range.
The board27s vote instructs staff to continue recruitment under the new posting; supervisors said they expect the change to broaden the candidate pool while they explore longer-term ways to address recruitment across the organization.
