HomeMy WebLinkAboutCommittee of the Whole February 27 20071 WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
2 Committee Of The Whole
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4 February 27, 2007
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7 Council Chair Carl Weimer called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. in the Council
8 Committee Room, 311 Grand Avenue, Bellingham, Washington.
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10 Present: Absent:
11 Barbara Brenner None
12 Dan McShane
13 Sam Crawford
14 Seth Fleetwood
15 Laurie Caskey- -Schreiber
16 L. Ward Nelson
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18 1. DISCUSSION REGARDING A PERSONNEL MATTER (AB2006 -018)
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20 McShane stated the Committee of the Whole discussed this at a previous meeting.
21 They wanted to make sure everyone is on the same page on the salary issue. He and the
22 administration discussed the appropriate pay range.
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24 Nelson stated the Council had a budget analyst position before. His only concern is
25 that the position needs administration by the Council Chair to regulate the employee's work.
26 Don't put administrative responsibility over the employee on the Clerk of the Council. Also,
27 the employee should not put demands on the current Council staff.
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29 Fleetwood asked the drawbacks of the previous employee.
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31 Nelson stated there weren't any drawbacks, per se.
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33 Brenner stated the previous employee was a prima donna.
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35 Fleetwood asked who decided to terminate that arrangement.
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37 Dana Brown - Davis, Clerk of the Council, stated the employee left, and the position
38 was never filled.
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40 Crawford asked if he left before the Executive Kremen was elected.
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42 Brenner stated he was here when Executive Kremen was elected. The pay range
43 should be the same as any department head. Brown -Davis stated the salary range is
44 $4,427 to $5,712 per month.
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46 Caskey- Schreiber stated that seems low.
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48 McShane stated the budget amount was $80,000.
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50 Crawford stated the budget amount includes benefits.
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52 McShane stated the budget amount has to include salary, benefits, and any other
53 costs of the position. Everyone on the Council was okay with the job description, but there
Committee of the Whole, 2/27/2007, Page 1
1 has been some discussion between the administration and some councilmembers about the
2 pay range. He wants to make sure this is the range that everyone is comfortable with.
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4 Caskey- Schreiber stated the pay range is very much too low. Whatcom County is
5 paying its planners too little, less than what the City of Lake Stevens pays, according to her
6 brother. No one will accept a job up here because the pay is so horrendously low,
7 compared to what planners are getting paid down there.
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9 Brenner asked the relevance of the City of Lake Stevens.
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11 Caskey - Schreiber stated it is a small city, compared to this large county. Ft's a small
12 town. She wants the salary closer to $80,000. The Council's intent was for that amount to
13 be the salary. Include the benefits as a budget amendment.
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15 Crawford asked how much Whatcom County pays a senior planner. Brown -Davis
16 stated a senior planner for the county is much less than that amount.
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18 McShane stated that is part of the issue. This came about from a discussion last
19 week. The administration raised a concern because senior planners are represented by the
20 union, and this is a non -union position. He talked with the Human Resources Division staff,
21 who proposed that the position be a senior planner similar to the union position. However,
22 this will be an exempt position. Also, this person will really represent the County Council,
23 all the time. The employee will have to be very discreet and have talent in dealing with a
24 lot of different personalities. The administration agreed that this position would have a pay
25 range above a senior planner, outside the union. It's likely that the employee will have
26 experience, and be placed at the higher end of the range, which is $60,000 per year. The
27 County Council can't put forward a budget amendment. It would have to come from the
28 administration. A salary at the higher end of the range totals close to the budget amount.
29 They maybe should have gone higher.
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31 Brenner stated she feels strongly that this person should be paid the same as a
32 department head. This person has got to provide all the services that the administration
33 gets, in one person. She is amazed at the proposed pay range.
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35 Caskey - Schreiber stated there is a serious problem with the pay range at the
36 Planning Department. If they go higher, and this creates some havoc, that's okay. The
37 issue must be addressed. She doesn't know that the Planning Department is able to hire
38 the best, most capable people with that salary range. Raise the pay range. There is no
39 problem with the administration putting forward an amendment to cover the cost of fringe
40 benefits. The Council okay's the administration's amendments all the time. It's not out of
41 the ordinary that someone's salary has to be higher. The Council's intent was clear on the
42 record that they want to hire someone at a salary range of $80,000. The Council should
43 ask the administration to put forward an amendment to cover the benefits.
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45 Nelson stated they need to take a close look at the applications they receive, first.
46 The Council isn't locked at this salary range. Paying the highest wage available doesn't
47 mean they will get the best person for the job. This person will work with a lot of other
48 departments. He's worried about creating a position with elevated status, equal to or above
49 other departments, until the Council has time to work with the employee and see what
50 products it will get from the employee.
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52 Brenner stated this person is more than a planner. That's why the salary should be
53 in the range of a department head. They talked about having someone with legal, planning,
Committee of the Whole, 2/27/2007, Page 2
1 and budget experience. They are talking about a department head. This is the only person
2 who the Council has. The salary can always go down, if they don't find someone qualified.
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4 Crawford stated the salary range here is good. Whatcom County is good about
5 looking at comparable counties for salary information. The difficulty in Whatcom County is
6 that its major city pays more than the County. In spite of that, not many employees move
7 from the County to the City. Whatcom County pays a comparable salary. Now, they are
8 talking about offering something substantially more. There is no harm at advertising this
9 above - market rate and seeing the caliber and interests of the applicants. Advertise through
10 the American Planning Association to get national exposure on this. If all the applications
11 they receive don't meet the Council's intent, then the Council can reconsider the salary
12 range issue.
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14 Caskey- Schreiber stated that is totally unnecessary. It wastes time. The Council
15 needs this person yesterday. They are putting limits on a position announcement with this
16 salary level. The Planner 3 positions in King County make $75,000. They are not going to
17 get a top notch person for that amount. A salary of $50,000 to $60,000 is not that much
18 money. They will not attract a high caliber person with that salary level.
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20 Brenner stated she's not comparing this position to Bellingham, Whatcom County is
21 losing planners and other staff. They aren't being replaced. The Council needs someone
22 who is more than a planner.
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24 McShane stated the Council has budgeted $80,000. The administration is not
25 pleased with this.
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27 Crawford stated neither are certain councilmembers.
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29 McShane stated the majority of the Council supported it. Make sure this is the
30 correct range. Obviously, not everyone is comfortable with the range. He feels lucky that
31 the Council has gotten this salary level from the administration. The administration
32 originally had the salary level set much lower. It was well -below what the Council budgeted
33 for. The salary range can't go much higher than this, given the confines of the budget.
34 There is a cost to the position, in terms of equipment and furniture.
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36 Caskey- Schreiber stated the Council could ask for an amendment.
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38 McShane stated it could. However, the Council will get an applicant who is good, and
39 who will fit this position well. He disagrees that the position should equal a department
40 head. The person won't manage people. This person will be in a difficult position. They
41 have a good Comprehensive Plan with action items that haven't been acted upon. This
42 person can take a lead on those issues. There is a variety of other issues to which the
43 Council may want to assign this person. It will require a lot of work by the Council to reach
44 a majority on the person's work assignments. He hesitates giving the person direction to
45 work on issues that are only approved by four councilmembers. At least five
46 councilmembers should approve the person's work items. The Council is looking for
47 someone with years of experience, which will place the person at the higher end of the
48 range.
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50 Fleetwood asked who decides the salary level on the range.
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52 McShane stated there is a formula used based on experience. The ultimate hiring
53 process will be done by the administration.
Committee of the Whole, 2/27/2007, Page 3
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2 Brenner stated this is a Council employee, not an administrative employee.
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4 McShane stated the Council will be involved in the interview process, but the process
5 is very controlled.
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7 Brenner stated the administration is already very unhappy with the Council about
8 creating this position. If the administration makes the final decision on the salary amount,
9 it is a conflict of interest.
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11 McShane stated the Council sets the pay policy for exempt employees. The step
12 placement is based on experience.
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14 Brenner asked what happens if the Council thinks the employee's experience entitles
15 that person to a salary higher than what the administration decides.
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17 McShane stated that is a fight to have down the road.
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19 Nelson stated a committee will interview the person. He recommends that the chair
20 be involved in that interview process, since the chair will ultimately be responsible. The
21 entire Council can't sit in and make the decision. Someone should work with the interview
22 committee.
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24 Brenner stated all the councilmembers should be involved.
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26 Caskey - Schreiber stated the Council should be the hiring committee. It's hired the
27 Sheriff and Judge.
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29 Nelson stated the hiring process includes a committee that includes staff from the
30 Human Resources Division, staff in the department, and another person.
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32 Caskey- Schreiber stated that is the process for administrative hires. This is a
33 Council hire. Don't let the administration dictate how this person is hired. The Council
34 should have its own hiring committee, with full participation, just like it did with the Sheriff
35 and the Judge. She's fine working with the Clerk of the Council and the Human Resources
36 Division. However, don't turn this over to other department heads.
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38 Nelson stated that anyone on the Council who wants to be responsible for the hire
39 should be involved in the process. He doesn't want to do that.
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41 Weimer stated the Human Resources Division will lead the process, and the
42 councilmembers could all listen. He's fine with that. He's also fine with the pay range.
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44 McShane stated the Council will need to rely heavily on the Human Resources
45 Division to take the lead on the hiring process. The process will be different from the Sheriff
46 and Judge hiring processes, because this is not a political hire.
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48 Caskey - Schreiber stated they have standard questions that they will ask every
49 candidate.
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51 Crawford stated the Council will figure out what questions it wants to ask, and then
52 the Human Resource Division will ask those questions of all candidates. The Council is
53 quiet, and just watches the interviews.
Committee of the Whole, 2/27/2007, Page 4
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2 Nelson stated he would not want to do that until they get down to three finalists.
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4 The Council concurred.
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6 OTHER BUSINESS
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8 There was no other business.
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10 ADJOURN
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12 The meetin adjourned at approximately 7:00 p.m.
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16 Jill Nixon, Minutes Transcription
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18 The A ncil approved these minutes on March 27 , 2007.
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26 ff�na 'kreg�y n� Sun Clerk Carl Weimer, Council Chair
Committee of the Whole, 2/27/2007, Page S