Wagner requests better pay for staff

RITZVILLE — The Adams County Commissioners meetings Jan. 16 and 17 featured significant discussion regarding a need in certain corrections and administrative positions for new pay structures to retain employees and keep wages competitive. The meeting also featured an update on Adams County Jail staffing.

Adams County Sheriff Dale Wagner summed up the situation at the jail.

“We don't have a sergeant. That has to be something we set up a test for when people are qualified,” he said. “Right now we don't have anybody necessarily qualified to be a sergeant. We are working with one corporal. We are fully staffed other than the (jail) commander.”

Wagner said the current pay schedule doesn’t offer enough compensation for administrative salaried positions.

“We're falling behind, and there's just no way around it. We have two positions in the Sheriff's Office, the Jail (Commander) and the 911 coordinator,” Wagner said. “What we've learned over the past year with the Jail (Commander) is he's not just the supervisor, he's salaried, and he's covering shifts, he's dealing with all the headaches of the issues that are going on with the jail and the facility and everything else. And when you're down to two or three staff, salaried positions take a lot of overtime. And we discussed this a while back, he's getting compensated with time off when it's available, but he's getting a ton of it and he’s not able to use all that. And that's the same with the 911 coordinator. The unfortunate part about the 911 coordinator is she doesn't have any backup supervision; it's just her … We just need to find more fair compensation.”

Wagner said he looked to other counties to see how they provide fair compensation to administrative staff.

“What (other counties) do is they take those positions like the 911 coordinator … because they manage people, and they bring them to the same level as a sergeant,” Wagner said. “So every time the Deputies Association gets an increase in pay those positions … in the administrative management portion, their pay goes up as well.”

Wagner also spoke about trouble filling the Jail Commander position with a permanent appointment. Wagner said no current Sheriff’s Office staff want to take the job because it amounts to less pay, forcing Wagner to turn to outside applicants. 

“I interviewed (an applicant) and it went very well. He is probably overly qualified, which is really good. He is very well known. He's very well-versed. He has a very good reputation, and I think he would do an outstanding job,” Wagner said. “But then you look at the pay scale, he went, ‘Oh, I'm not sure I can do that.’ And so I'm trying to come up with a few things here. I need the Jail Commander to be compensated at a good rate so that we can get somebody in here who's qualified to run the situation that we're dealing with currently and beyond. Because it's going to take a lot.”

Wagner elaborated on the jail’s needs.

“We're dealing with the training of new people from start to finish, getting the jail open, eventually making improvements to the jail. We're all committed to doing all the things that we're trying to do and to have somebody that can manage that is going to take fair compensation, and then trying to adjust all the other administrative positions to where we're in the ballpark of what those positions elsewhere are asking for,” Wagner said. “And I just think that instead of every other year where we're falling behind, we get to a system where every time they get an increase, these ones (also) get an increase, and we did that with the undersheriff position. That's kind of the schedule people are going to because they don't want to leave the administrative people behind.”

Commissioner Dan Blankenship responded to Wagner’s request to increase pay for these positions. 

“I guess the first concern is where's the money come from?” he said. 

Commissioner Jay R. Weise said more comparisons and information needs to be gathered from other departments and counties. 

“I’m not against any of this, Dale. My reluctance of saying anything at this point in time (is because) I don't have all of the information that you gathered,” Weise said. 

Wagner again emphasized the importance of fair compensation.

“When you have somebody who's working seven days a week not being able to take their vacations for several months, that's a problem. And then to deal with that just because they’re salaried, and then they look at the other people getting their raises and stuff and they're left quite a bit behind. There's no motivation to be in administration, and administration is what pushes the whole thing forward.”

After more discussion, Blankenship asked Wagner if he would be willing to rank which positions need to be reclassified first in case the commissioners need to change the wages in stages, to which Wagner responded yes. No decision was made regarding a potential new schedule, however. 

Gabriel Davis may be reached at gdavis@columbiabasinherald.com. Download the Columbia Basin Herald app on iOS and Android.

    From left to right, Adams County Commissioners Mike Garza, Dan Blankenship, Jay R. Weise and Board Clerk Patricia Phillips sit in the Adams County District Court building in Othello during a June commissioner meeting.