Freeze on salaries handcuffs county in recruiting

A typical week for Cpl. Matt Hough might include a full week of patrol, an extra shift of traffic control and a side job doing security at Springfield Cardinals games. It can easily add up to 60 hours a week.

"Basically anything I can get my hands on to supplement my income," Hough said. "Many of us pick up extra work."

That's become necessary because Greene County employees, including those in the Sheriff's Office, haven't seen raises in more than six years.

Hough said he received a raise about three years ago — to about $36,000 — when he was promoted to corporal. That's the only way for employees to see a pay bump.

"It's demanding work, physically and mentally," Hough said. "And some guys have financial stress on top of that."

Deputies and corrections officers can be lured to police departments or federal prisons that pay more. Hough said he's also seen many deputies leave — particularly in the past year — to take jobs in completely different fields.

"It seems like we've lost a lot of talented deputies," he said.

It's not just a problem for the Sheriff's Office.

County employee salaries lagged behind competitors in 2008. After six years of a salary freeze, Greene County is now having a serious problem attracting and retaining qualified staff.

"It's the most pressing issue we have," County Administrator Tim Smith said. "I don't know what we're going to do."

Smith said the county is fortunate some of its talented employees, who could be making more elsewhere, have "hung on." But he acknowledges that's not a decision everyone can afford to make.

Including resignations, retirements and firings, 706 employees have left Greene County in the last five years. For a county with 777 employees at the start of this year, that's nearly 100 percent turnover during that time period.

Lagging behind

Earlier this year, the county's Emergency Management Director, Ryan Nicholls, left his position to take a job as the Manager of Emergency Planning for the medical school at Washington University in St. Louis.

While the private university's salaries aren't public, Smith said Nicholls got a significant raise to make the move. Smith said Nicholls' new salary is "more in line what he's worth."

As officials go through the search process to find his replacement, they say they're working at a disadvantage.

Smith said to find a good candidate at the salary the county can afford — Nicholls made about $45,000 last year — he expects to find someone who is nearing retirement and may have another pension as a crutch, someone who's relatively new to the business, or someone from a smaller county making a step up.

In addition to the emergency management job, the county finds itself poorer than its competitors in many areas.

In a salary study done three years ago, the county was about 20 percent behind other public entities, which included the City of Springfield, Missouri State University, and Springfield Public Schools, and others.

Because there have been no county raises since the study was done, officials expect Greene County is now about 25 percent behind.

Smith said it's difficult to keep and attract employees in that environment, whether it's engineers who can make more for City Utilities, jailers who can make more for rural police departments, or information technology staffers who can make more at Jack Henry or a local university.

There's no answer in sight, Smith said.

Even if the economy continues to improve and the county is able to give raises, Smith said that wouldn't be enough to catch up. The county would have to offer annual raises and make up lost ground beyond that.

He said that likely means getting a new revenue source. That means asking for a new tax — something he's skeptical will work, especially given the recent failure of a use tax vote.

"If we say we need a general revenue sales tax to help pay for county employees, what are the odds of that working?" he said. "Slim to none."

Other benefits

There are certain non-financial benefits to working with the county, officials have said, that enhance the quality of the workplace — friendly, cooperative departments, flexibility for family issues and an opportunity to serve the community, for example.

Perry Epperly, chief juvenile officer for the county, said employees at the Juvenile Justice Center are passionate about what they do, and the county's Juvenile Office provides them opportunity to succeed.

Two supervisors have left the department in recent months to take opportunities elsewhere, but Epperly said he tries to focus more on why certain employees stay.

Epperly has a background in human resources. He said he's found "stay interviews" more valuable than exit interviews.

"I've found Greene County employees to be some of the most competent and driven to provide the highest level of services," he said.

While acknowledging there has been a need to upgrade pay, Epperly emphasized that recruitment and retention is often based on opportunities to be "transformational," and give employees the chance to "participate in system reform as part of something bigger than themselves."

However, Smith said many employees, especially those making less than $50,000, still feel the pressure of not getting paid what the market typically says they're worth.

Officials have expressed concern specifically with the ability of younger employees to support families.

"After awhile, being a good place to work only goes so far," Smith said.

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