[Editor’s Note: This is the first of a multi-part series of articles on the special meeting on July 27, 2021 and talks about the fiscal year 2022 budget.]

By Mary Alice Murphy

This Grant County Commission special meeting took place on July 27, 2021, specifically to approve a resolution on the fiscal year 2022 budget.

The commissioners already hashed out their various opinions on the budget in prior meetings. This one was no different. District 5 Commissioner Harry Browne made a motion to approve the final budget for fiscal year 2022 “for discussion purposes.”

District 2 Commissioner Javier “Harvey” Salas seconded it.

Grant County Financial Officer Linda Vasquez said it had not changed since the preliminary budget except for a transfer out of the General Fund for debt service. “The budget includes a 3 percent salary increase and an 8 percent increase for half a year for health insurance.”

She noted the reserve would be $2.8 million, as required by state statute, leaving a reserve of $123,000.”

Vasquez said, in answer to a question, that it costs the county almost $4 million a year to run the county jail.

Browne suggested the option of 1½ precent raise now, with the rest being used to bring employees up to the midpoint.

District 1 Commissioner and Chair Chris Ponce suggested: “Let the county manager and staff determine how the 3 percent will be spent.”

Interim County Manager Randy Villa said he would prefer direction from the commissioners.

District 3 Commissioner Alicia Edwards thanked Procurement Officer Randy Hernandez, Human Resources Specialist Renae Calloway and Vasquez for “all the information you’ve given us. I’ve been thinking about the issue. I know how we talk about how this topic matters, but I don’t think we’ve done a good job. We discuss things we want you to do, but we don’t follow through. In 2017, we paid for a position classification study. The conversation at the time was that a step plan seemed best. We would have to look at every single employee, so it has never been done, although after the study we did bring some people up. For fair and equitable pay for our employees, we would really have to look at every position. We have updated the classification plan twice, but we haven’t implemented the step plan. The longer we put the step plan off, the more expensive it is. What would it cost now, and in the future, so we have a fair and comprehensive way to go forward? We need to decide if we can do it or stop talking about it. I think it’s harmful to the employees to keep talking about it. We have to have balance for our employees and for the taxpayers, too.

“I think we need to create a policy going forward,” Edwards continued. “We know we will have to involve the union, too. I don’t know what to expect in the way of revenue for the next few years. We know copper production is headed downward. With the Delta variant, I don’t think Covid is going away. It’s all making me cautious about the budget. We are already facing the 8 percent increase in health insurance in this budget, as well as another 8 percent increase in the next budget. We pay 100 percent of health, dental and mental health insurance for employees, which is about $17,000 per employee. We also pay into PERA (Public Employees Retirement Association about $7,000. So, we are paying an average of $24,000 over their wages to every county employee. Last year, we did not have to lay off anyone, and I don’t want to lay off anyone. I suggest the 1½ percent across the board raise, except for the Sheriff’s Department, which already has its step plan in place, and use the rest of it to put people on a step plan. What would the cost be to put everyone on the step plan now and determine how much it will cost the county over the next three years or so?”

Ponce said his thinking is a little different. “I wasn’t a commissioner when the study was done, so I don’t know how much has been done with it. But the employees haven’t had an increase in a couple of years. If we look at a step plan, we are giving employees false hope. We don’t know what we face over the next few years. I think we should approve the budget and leave the decisions to the management and financial folks.

District 2 Commissioner Javier “Harvey” Salas asked how many hourly employees the county has.

Vasquez said about 100, not counting the Sheriff’s Department, the DWI department and Corre Caminos. “We have about 500 employees all together.”

Salas asked was the dollar amount was for the 3 percent raise.

Vasquez replied that it is about $198,000 including benefits. She said she looked at how it would impact the highest and lowest paid union-represented employees. “It will be 61 cents an hour to the highest paid and 12 cents to the lowest paid.”

Salas said he was aware that the lower on the pay scale, the larger the gaps are between the highest and lowest paid. “We heard last week that it would cost between $500,000 and $600,000 to bring everyone up to midpoint. We have a finite number of dollars, so that is not possible. I have two suggestions. No. 1, we take the amount we have for raises, divide it by the number of employees and give everyone the same amount. No. 2, take the 3 percent to bring the bottom ones up as high as we can. The 1½ percent is so minimal, I think it will create discord instead of appreciation.”

Ponce asked for clarification that the county has brought the entry level employees almost up to midpoint. Vasquez confirmed that, because after their probationary period, they are brought up to the regular rate.

District 4 Commissioner Billy Billings said he had a discussion with Vasquez on the issue. “She convinced me she knows more about budgets than I do. It seems we have two, maybe three options. We have an interim manager now, and we will have a new manager. Let them do their job and bring the step plan back to us.”

After a lot of circular discussion and more suggestions, going back and forth with the 3 percent now or the 1½ now and step plan later, Browne moved that the commissioners approve the budget with the 3 percent raise now to all employees, with the exception of the sheriff’s department, the elected officials and the deputies to the elected officials, and the county management will bring a step plan back to the Commission at the first meeting in February.”

The budget was approved.

Vasquez noted later in the meeting that the raise will be retroactive to the beginning of the pay period starting on July 11.

The next meeting will address two requests for proposals and the bids received.