Butler County veterans board raises salary ranges 6 percent

The commissioners on the Butler County veterans board have agreed to raise salary ranges for their employees by six percent.

Executive Director Caroline Bier told commissioners that while a consultant’s recent wage survey did not recommend a change, she favored a six percent increase to the minimum and maximum salaries in the ranges for the various employees.

“That is increasing the minimum and the maximum by six percent,” Bier said. “That does not mean that anyone is going to be raised to their maximum, this is just to keep the pay ranges competitive.”

There are seven employees who will get raises to be making the new minimum and those raises will cost $7,516 annually. New pay ranges take effect in January and will be in place for two years. The last time the salary ranges were adjusted was 2015.

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The commissioners originally discussed raising the ranges by about two percent, because all veterans benefits will be raised by that much next year. But Bier said with three people at a point to where they are topped out, she wanted to give the commissioners room to reward employees.

“I put it out at that amount so we have some room over the next couple of years to give pay raises and not just lump sum,” she said.

The Clemans Nelson survey obtained by this news agency show that other counties surveyed provided very little salary information and no ranges at all. Bier, who currently earns $77,226 a year, makes 63 cents more hourly than the average salaries of the seven counties surveyed.

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Executive Assistant Anna O’Neill makes $11.17 more per hour than the average of those counties. However, the commissioners and Bier say O’Neill has so many responsibilities beyond what her title would suggest. Bier said they added some language to O’Neill’s job description that reflects she is also the human resources officer at the agency, handling everything from payroll to scheduling. That’s why the average executive assistant’s salary is $41,896 and O’Neill earns $62,220.

Most of the service officers earn $1,542 more than the survey’s average, but benefits coordinators are making almost $7,000 less than the average of their peers, according to the survey.

Board President Chuck Weber said he fully supports the salary range adjustment.

“These pay ranges look realistic and they look competitive,” Weber said. “They don’t look like we’re giving away the store, at least not to me.”

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He also noted that all raises are given on a performance basis and are not automatic — except to get those seven employees up to the minimum.

Commissioner Tom Jeffers said they have an excellent staff and they want to be able to keep them.

“I think you need, for us to keep the people, we keep hearing how great they are doing, we need to be competitive to keep our people,” Jeffers said.

The board also awarded bonuses to the employees. Bier was given a one-time $1,500 bonus; the service officers will get $700; O’Neill will be given $500; and the board’s receptionist will receive $250.

Bier said the commissioners wanted to recognize that the agency has consistently increased the number of veterans it serves month after month. It hit a new five- year high in October with 574 veterans served.

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