CANYON CITY — The Grant County Court heard a proposal to enact a new wage scale for county employees but decided to take no action until the plan has been reviewed by an employment attorney.

Justice of the Peace Kathy Stinnett, part of a five-person committee formed in August to review pay scales for county employees, presented the plan during the court’s meeting on Wednesday, March 20, as a more rational and structured alternative to the existing system, which she said had created a situation where subordinates could potentially earn more than their supervisors, among other inequities.

“I think there were eventually, over time, things that got out of whack,” Stinnett said.

Also on the wage committee are Deputy Assessor Christina Ritner, Airport Manager Haley Walker, County Clerk Laurie Cates and Emergency Operations Manager Eric Bush.

Stinnett made reference to the county’s efforts to trim the budget in recent years by cutting employee hours or possibly eliminating some departments and noted that the county budget committee had “asked for some sort of assurance that our employee spending is under control.”

The proposal would result in a lower starting wage for many county jobs. Committee members estimate the plan could save the county between $1 million and $3 million over 10 years, depending on how quickly current jobs turn over.

But Stinnett said current county employees would be “held harmless” under the plan, with no one who now works for the county being forced to take a pay cut. Rather, she said, the new rates would take effect through attrition, after current employees leave their jobs.

Some county employees in the audience, however, expressed concern that the new system could cause more problems than it solved, such as by removing incentives for experienced employees to apply for promotions because moving into a new position would result in a pay cut.

Sheriff Todd McKinley, for instance, said some of his senior patrol deputies might shy away from applying for a sergeant’s stripes for financial reasons.

“Currently, with overtime, seniors can make more than the sergeants (under the proposed pay scale),” McKinley said.

Commissioner Jim Hamsher echoed that objection. He also wondered about the potential for lawsuits if, for example, a new hire came in at a lower pay rate than a longtime employee grandfathered in under the older, higher wage scale.

Hamsher argued that the county court should commission a compensation analysis and have the proposal reviewed by an employment attorney before making a decision on the plan.

“My main objective is to make sure we protect the county from any liability,” he said.

At the top of the proposed wage scale, calculated by hourly pay rate, would be county elected officials, the county roadmaster, and top law enforcement officers, plus the human resources director and road foreman, followed by department heads, then their subordinates.

The starting hourly pay for each position would be pegged to the starting pay for the county judge, which would be set at $42.608 per hour or $88,624 per year. (The two county commissioners would actually make slightly more than that — $42.61 per hour, or 100.3% of the county judge’s rate — but because they are part-time jobs, the annual pay would be $29,512.)

Other jobs would earn less per hour, with the starting wage for a new sheriff set at 90% of the county judge’s rate, the roadmaster 84%, the assessor, clerk, treasurer and justice of the peace 78%, and so on down the line.

The starting pay rate would apply to the first year for new hires, with a 2% raise (plus any county-approved cost of living adjustment) coming in years 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10.

In almost every case, the new starting pay would be less than what the same position is expected to be earning at the start of the next fiscal year on July 1. While current employees would not see a pay cut if the new system is adopted, anyone newly hired into the same job would be paid the new rate.

Stinnett noted that she is a candidate for the county judge position in the May election and that, under the proposed wage scale, pay for that position would be reduced. If the new scale is approved and she is elected, she would start under the new, lower rate, although that would be more than she is currently making as justice of the peace.

Hamsher is also a candidate for the job. Both Hamsher and Stinnett insisted their arguments for or against the proposed pay structure had nothing to do with how much they might earn as county judge.

“If the judge paid $50,000 (a year), I could care less,” Hamsher said, “but all the salaries here are tied to the county judge.”

“I think it’s wise for us to postpone a decision until after we receive legal review,” Grant County Judge Scott Myers said before joining Hamsher and Commissioner Jim Rowell in voting down the wage scale proposal — at least for now.

Rowell said he likes the idea of creating a formal wage structure for the county but added he was not yet ready to support the plan as presented.

“If we can get to a point where we’re comfortable with it,” he said, “I think we should get it done.”

In other action, the Grant County Court:

• Approved spending $165,771.49 to purchase a Caterpillar excavator to replace a smaller Bobcat excavator for the Road Department yard at Long Creek.

• Approved a proposal to allow a group of citizens in the Ritter area to use property leased by the county as a place to crush rock at their expense for their private use. One of the applicants is the owner of the property.

• Voted to appoint County Judge Scott Myers as the county’s alternate liaison to the Grant County Digital board.

• Approved the creation of two jail corporal positions within the Grant County Sheriff’s Office to support the jail sergeant in supervising jail employees and activities. The estimated additional cost to the county is $5,760 per year.