At the request of the county board, Cook County Administrator Jeff Cadwell was tasked with performing a worker compensation/class study for county employees, something that hadn’t been done since the 1980s.
Cadwell, his assistant Judy Hill and the Keystone Consulting Group, which was hired to assist with the study, began working with department heads and employees in June. The finished report— which looked at job descriptions, pay for positions, market research, duties, education, etc. had three general goals, and they are as follows: To provide fair and equitable compensation to employees in a competitive and changing labor market. To maintain a competitive pay structure that takes into consideration the county’s fiscal resources, and to ensure the county’s ability to hire and retain qualified employees and the internal relationships are equitable.
Cadwell presented highlights of the study at the county board’s Tuesday, February 14 meeting, but earlier, one county employee, Kevin Twiest spoke to the county board during the public comment period that opens the board meetings.
“Today you will be presented with an option to adopt or approve The Keystone CompClass Study.
“The problem is: The information that has thus far been presented to commissioners, department heads, and the personnel committee is only the summary of the study.
“I feel very strongly that no action should be taken to approve or adopt this study until there is a complete review of all the available information. This decision impacts everyone, administration, staff, and taxpayers. There is just too much at stake to make this caliber of decision with only a subset of the facts. The biggest concern is that this will be adopted by the board, and that will mean it is etched in stone so that it can’t be changed.
“This study is very complex; there are a lot of factors that have gone into reaching the conclusion that has been presented so far. And I know that there is a lot of information that has not been included in the summary.
“I am aware that depending on the method used to make calculations there can be a lot of differing results. But from this study, no one has seen the math. When I went to school, if I turned in a math test or math assignment, even though I had every answer right, across the top of my paper the teacher would have written: You have to show your work!
“Too many times I have seen people make this kind of presentation, and only the information that supports the presenter’s goals is shared with the decision makers. That is salesmanship, but I have also seen, in this very room, people make statements that were ‘100 percent true’ but also 100 percent deceptive.
“Consultants are also very sharp in their ability to assess the outcome that a paying customer wants to hear and then tailor the data to show those results.
“I’m not saying the study is bad, or that it should be scrapped. I think it is better than the old system we had. I feel that it has potential, but it has to fit Cook County! It needs to be reviewed and adjusted by more than just one set of eyes.
“To date, at least five of the department heads have come forward with serious concerns about the study. These are heads of the largest departments in our organization.
“The two areas of chief concern are the market analysis. It was based solely on the population without any regard for similarities the local economies or the cost of living. On that basis, we could have used Antarctica for the study.
“Secondly, the implementation seems to have been at the very least arbitrary if not leaning toward the ultimate goal: Zero budget impact.
“These two areas have created or added to the massive discontent, lack of trust and even contempt on the part of county employees for the current administration.
“There is no need to rush this at this point. We have paid the consultant; we have the product, now let’s work together to implement it in the best way possible for the long term good of all parties involved: administration, staff, and taxpayers.”
Administrator Cadwell asked the county board to affirm the results of the study, acknowledging that the consultant had performed the services and supplied the deliverables outlined in the agreement. He said he and Judy Hill were working with department heads to review job grades to make sure that job descriptions had been accurately reflected in the job grades.
The board voted unanimously to accept the study.
Administrator Cadwell said he would schedule meetings with the negotiating committee and schedule meetings with employees units to review and negotiate wage scale implementations.
The study covered 82 county jobs and collected market data for 73 jobs. The jobs were matched based on job responsibilities as defined in the job descriptions.
Comparisons were made with 22 counties who had either populations or budgets somewhat similar to Cook County.
Cook County employees are paid at 91 percent of the current maximum, with Cook County current maximums at 99 percent of the market maximum.
One rate fell below the proposed range minimum, and eight other rates are paid above the recommended maximums.
Actual county pay is at 85.4 percent of the proposed range maximum.
On average, new maximums are about 5 percent higher than the old maximums with some variations by jobs.
The new range ties internal job evaluations to market and should be updated annually.
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