Rebecca Hunter - Download MP3-

By Matt Wilson

Staff Writer

As Chattanooga gears up to implement the findings of a 258-page compensation study, Hamilton County is working slowly toward bringing its employees' pay up to market rates.

A study of how the county measures up against other counties, cities and businesses when it comes to salaries found that employees generally make below the market average, but salaries are on the rise.

"This year was an exceptional year for us," Hamilton County Human Resources Administrator Rebecca Hunter said. "The recommendations that were made, we were able to fully fund."

According to an August report on the study conducted by the Human Resources Service Center, a private consulting firm, Hamilton County employees on average make about 6 percent below market rates. But that is up from 11 percent below market rates in fiscal 2007.

Ms. Hunter said the county changed its pay system in September 2000 from one based on longevity to one that takes the market into account. She said it took officials about six months to implement those changes.

PDF: Pay Study

Since then, the county has done a pay study and implemented recommendations every year, she said.

"I think it's pretty comfortable where it is now," Ms. Hunter said.

City officials have not set a timeline for when changes to the recommendations from their pay study will go into place.

Brian Johnson, a former county Parks and Recreation employee who ran against Hamilton County Mayor Claude Ramsey in 2006, said there have been some improvements, but more are needed.

"They definitely need to increase the pay for employees," Mr. Johnson, who works for Dillard Smith Construction Co., said of the county.

He said he would like to see pay compared with the cost of living rather than market averages.

Hamilton County Sheriff's Department Chief Deputy Allen Branum said department officials generally are satisfied with the pay ranges for deputies, but funding is not always available.

"Our problem is being able to find where the officers ought to be in that range," he said.

Becky Barnes, administrator of the Chattanooga Hamilton-County Health Department, said county officials have tried to ensure that the most underpaid employees get brought up the ladder.

"Sometimes it takes a couple years to move up," she said.

Several positions in the Health Department, such as dentist and pharmacist, were among the positions paid the furthest below the market average.

Ms. Barnes said it often is difficult to pay public health employees competitively, especially when private hospitals are factored in.

Chief Branum said salary should not be the only measuring stick. Benefits such as health care coverage and take-home cars should be taken into account also, he said.

The Hamilton County Commission voted in November 2006 to raise employee health care premiums alongside a pay increase.

Mr. Johnson said the county's health care package was a selling point for many employees and that raising the premiums proved somewhat problematic.

"The pay increase was just enough, in some cases, to cover the difference," he said.

Still, Hamilton County contributes more than most competitors to its employees' health care plans.

According to the Chattanooga pay study conducted by the Segal Group, the county pays 89 percent of single and family health care plans. Chattanooga pays 80 percent.

E-mail Matt Wilson at mwilson@timesfreepress.com

Tech Talk