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Josephine County backs forestry pay review to address recruitment gaps
Summary
After an HR compensation study showed entry-level pay lagging peers, the Board of County Commissioners reached consensus to support Forestry position reclassifications and asked HR to proceed with recruitment and regular compensation reviews.
The Josephine County Board of Commissioners reviewed a Human Resources compensation study on July 2 and signaled support for reclassifying several Forestry Department positions to improve recruitment and retention.
Natalie Eckhardt-Doupe, Interim Human Resources Director, said Forestry job descriptions had not had a formal compensation review since 2017 and that the study found "compensation disparities, particularly at the entry-level positions," with applicant pools consisting of relatively few qualified candidates. The study compared county classifications to similar forestry positions in other Oregon jurisdictions, she said.
Forestry Director Dave Streeter told commissioners that the county competes for workers with the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service and private timber companies that often offer substantially higher wages. "We frequently hire employees with strong work ethics and train them internally, only to lose those employees once they become qualified for higher-paying positions elsewhere," Streeter said. He added the department's timber sale program generates sufficient revenue to fully fund departmental personnel costs without relying on the General Fund.
Commissioner Gary L. Richardson reviewed the county's salary schedules and raised whether future collective bargaining discussions should address progression between salary steps to improve recruitment, while maintaining fiscal responsibility. Finance Director Matt Eide noted turnover often occurs within the first several years of employment before employees become invested in public retirement benefits, and commissioners discussed supervisory training and performance evaluations as retention tools.
Following discussion, commissioners "reached consensus supporting the proposed position reclassifications and personnel requisitions as presented," according to the meeting minutes. The transcript does not record a roll-call vote. Eckhardt-Doupe said Human Resources will implement a schedule for regular compensation reviews and supervisory training and will proceed with the recruitment activity for the affected Forestry positions.
Next steps: Human Resources will implement the review schedule and proceed with recruitment for the reclassified positions; commissioners indicated they expect future updates during regular workshops.
