As Cook County commissioners spend much of their time working on the 2017 county budget, one item that needs attention is the long awaited employee compensation study that is being headed up by the Keystone Compensation Group.
Keystone, who was hired by the county board, is an organization that works with counties and other forms of municipal government to establish compensation programs, strategy, and objectives.
At the board’s Tuesday, October 18 meeting Cook County Administrator Jeff Cadwell presented an amended list of Minnesota counties that Keystone will use as part of the peer group process to set salaries for Cook County employees. The list isn’t much changed from the original one, said Cadwell, with a couple of counties knocked off the list while a couple more were added. Those changes were done with the county’s personnel committee involved, Cadwell said.
Commissioner Garry Gamble asked if Jackson County would be a suitable candidate for the list and Cadwell said he would ask the consultant to see if that data would be relevant. Cadwell requested that if Keystone said yes, could he add it to the list of 22, and the board authorized him to do so.
Board chair Heidi Doo-Kirk cautioned against adding too much more work to the process because commissioners promised the study would be complete by the first of the year or the county would be penalized, and county employees would receive a bonus.
Commissioner Jan Sivertson asked if any local units of government or big business in the county would be included in the wage comparison/ benefit study.
Cadwell said he would ask human resources personnel from the hospital, clinic, and school to see if they would share that information, adding it would be in everybody’s best interest to work together and learn from each other.
The amended study includes 22 Minnesota counties.
By population, Cook County’s 5,437 residents put us as the sixth smallest county in the state. Meanwhile, when looked at, Mahnomen County (5,085), Kittson County (4,440), Red Lake County (4,111), Lake of the Woods County (3,976) and Traverse County (3,445) are smaller.
Cook County employs 88 fulltime workers, 17 part-time and five seasonal workers. The county’s 2016 budget was $14,048,830, which was substantially higher than the five smaller counties’ on the amended list, and Cook County’s 2016 budget was greater than the next six larger counties on the list.
Stone County has 5,466 residents, employs 60 people full-time, eight part-time and 12 seasonally at a 2016 budget of $11,337,560.
Lincoln County has 5,882 individuals and staffs 52 full-time, 10 part-time and two seasonal workers; Grant County has 5,993 residents; it employees 68 full-time 16 part-time and one seasonal employee. Wilkin County has 6,565 people and has 81 full-time, 28 part-time and two seasonal employees.
Norman County has 6,789 residents, 67 full-time county employees, and five part-time and zero seasonal workers. Laq quit Prairie has 7,321 people with 69 full-time county workers, 10 part-time and zero seasonal staff.
Cottonwood County is the largest by population on the amended list, with 12,167 people. Its 2016 budget was $15,566,712, but it employs just 70 people, six part-time and eight seasonal workers.
Marshall County, with 9,648 people has the largest budget at $20,331,145. Marshall employs 98 people full-time, four part-time and 20 seasonal workers.
Cadwell pointed out that Cook County faces similar challenges to Crow Wing County—who isn’t used in the study—because the resources are taxed by more than just the local population during the giant swings in the county’s non-resident population between summer and winter. The study by Keystone, said Cadwell, will take into account the impact those population swings have on the county’s services.
The board passed a motion to have Cadwell submit the list to Keystone with the caveat that he check to see if Jackson County should be added and to check with the local units of government and bigger county businesses to see if they would take part in the wage/benefit comparison study.
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