Matthew Santoni, The Examiner
2008-05-15 07:00:00.0
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Harford County -

Harford County wants to be the first in the state to abandon its old “step” method of classifying and paying its employees, under a plan presented Tuesday to the County Council.

In a two-hour-long public hearing, Human Resources Director Scott Gibson outlined the new pay and classification plan for the council, which would include a 9 percent pay bump for eligible employees and a rearrangement of how employees are classified. Gibson said the changes would make the county more competitive on the job market, especially for hiring experienced, mid-career transfers.

“A classification system that wants everyone to start at step one does not reflect today’s workforce,” Gibson said.

Under the bill, Harford would move to a broad-banding system with a maximum and a minimum salary for each job title, and would create new financial incentives for getting advanced degrees and job-related training, Gibson said.

The current system of “steps” makes even experienced transfers start near the bottom of the county's pay hierarchy. This becomes a larger issue when an aging workforce would require the county to hire older employees to fill positions vacated by retirement, he said.

“For every worker who retires, there simply won’t be an early-level hire to replace them,” he said.

The proposed 2009 budget included a 3 percent cost of living increase for county employees, one last 3 percent “step” for eligible employees and a 3 to 4 percent “market adjustment” meant to make Harford County’s salaries more competitive with 12 other government entities studied by the SMART consulting group over the last few months.

Council President Billy Boniface said he supported the change in classifications, but wanted to see more revisions in the study to address the proliferation of “temporary” employees who have to be funded on a year-by-year basis.

The council will vote on the pay plan June 3, after deciding in the budget whether to fund the raises.

msantoni@baltimoreexaminer.com