Human Resources Director Jim Davis said 96 people out of 193 eligible employees got raises in the one- to four-percent range. There were 46 Butler County Care Facility and 28 Children Services employees who were deemed ineligible because of budget constraints. Care Facility Administrator Chuck Demidovich and JFS Executive Director Jerome Kearns were among them.
Then late last month, the commissioners approved $24,748 worth of raises to 22 non-union Children Services employees. A $4 million budget deficit that surfaced in late December sent everyone scrambling and as it turned out the budget hole has been nearly fixed. One glaring omission on the raise list was Kearns. He has since been bumped back to being assistant director of JFS and his pay cut by about $10,000.
A Journal-News analysis of other managers under the commissioners control found some of them didn’t get raises and one got a raise, although his performance has been questioned by the commissioners. Airport Administrator Ron Davis, who has been on the hot seat since he failed to timely tell commissioners their fixed base operator contract was expiring, received a 2 percent pay hike, bringing him up to $91,457, and at the top of the Clemans Nelson pay range for his position.
Davis’ boss, Randy Quisenberry, who is the county’s asset, purchasing and project director, recommended the raise based on a performance evaluation where Davis achieved a score of 66 out of a possible 100 points on core competency. The minimum score was 60 points to be eligible for performance pay. Quisenberry said he took over the airport mid-year so no job specific expectations or goals were evaluated.
It wasn’t just the late notice on the FBO contract, the commissioners are frustrated the airport has continuously failed to carry its own weight. It cost an estimated $251,783 to run the airport last year, and revenues from the leases and gas were projected at $257,401. This year, revenues are only expected to top expenses by $9,277 and that does not include the $154,912 debt service payment. The county has incurred almost $3 million in debt for improvements at the airport since 2010.
Commissioner Don Dixon said it was a “jump ball” as to whether Davis should have received a raise, because he is not happy with airport operations. However, he takes some of the blame because while the county has been dealing with some major financial issues, they have let the “airport run on autopilot” because it wasn’t losing a ton of money.
He said they have not clearly articulated what they expect from Davis, or any other airport manager, but that is about to change, hence the recently commissioned study.
“My expectations are one thing, what his job description has been and what’s been expected out of him, he has adequately met, he met a 66. And that’s from the people that deal with him every day,” Dixon said. “That doesn’t mean that’s going to be OK next year. But by next year we will have an updated development plan, an action plan, there will be goals set, there will be time lines put to it and we will be able to look at it and say did you meet these goals.”
Quisenberry said Davis is a “tireless and dependable” employee with extensive aviation experience. He said he realizes Davis has some shortcomings, but his overall management of that asset is good.
“There are areas that the commissioners would like to see a lot more and that’s the business model, the increasing of revenues and the management of costs,” he said. “But operationally, you really have to look at the body of work; you can’t look at one misstep.”
Commissioner T.C. Rogers said immediate managers are in a better position than he is to measure someone’s day-to-day performance.
“We expect our managers to do the evaluations and it’s just a general policy not to second-guess them, unless there is some glaring circumstance which is negative,” he said.
A couple others in management in addition to Kearns also didn’t get raises. Mark Gadd, who is the facilities manager, received a total score of 232 out of a possible 325 points. Quisenberry said part of the reason Gadd didn’t get a raise was because he received a $9,000 pay hike when the Clemans Nelson study came back that he was under paid. But Gadd also has some challenges to overcome, such as providing complete budget information.
Records keeper Rhonda Freeze, who manages three people, was another manager whose salary stayed stagnant. She earned $85,772 last year and will make the same this year. Her supervisor, County Administrator Charlie Young, indicated on her evaluation she focuses on short-term goals instead of the big picture, and her plans often lack substance and specificity, among other problems. A total score was not available.
“Through the performance evaluation process I determined no raise was warranted,” he said. “There is no single reason why.”
Pay has been an issue with Freeze previously, she was making about $86,000 in 2010 when the county dropped her pay down to $69,899. She sued, claiming discrimination, and won.
Three managers received promotions but only two of them received hefty pay increases. Ray Pater, who will take over as executive director of Job and Family Services, which includes Children Services, received a five percent increase bringing his annual salary up to $98,956.
Bill Morrison, who was made director of Children Services in December, got a $6,005 raise bringing his annual salary up to $84,753 and $3,135 in retroactive pay. Jim Davis was given his directorship the same day as Morrison but he didn’t receive a pay increase at that time, because his salary was already on the high side according to Young.
“The belief was since he was already above the pay grade for the job he had, an increase upon promotion wasn’t appropriate,” Young said, adding that Davis has definitely earned the 1.5 percent merit increase he received.
The highest managerial raise was 3 percent to Development Director David Fehr. In the past year he has taken on duties at the port authority, the land bank and managed exploding commercial growth, especially with the mega Liberty Center development.
“It was a reward for performance, he has stepped up and done an admirable job in several areas…,” Young said. “We asked a lot of David last year and he stepped up and delivered.”
Young also got a pay boost this year, his first since he was hired in 2012. The commissioners, in accord with his hiring agreement, adjusted his starting salary of $125,000 by $12,500 in February and then gave him what amounts to a 2 percent pay increase per year for the three years he has held the top job.
His new annual salary is $145,151.
Dixon said when Young was hired he had no county government experience and was paid well below what the job is worth, until he proved himself.
“He has done an extremely good job, and I don’t believe you could replace him for that kind of money either,” Dixon said. “It’s not fair to say he got a $20,000 raise. He got moved from probation to the permanent position. There is no doubt he’s earned his position.”
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