Human Resource Director Deborah Makowski, right, speaks to members of the Chautauqua County Legislature’s Administrative Services Committee meeting.

Chautauqua County is looking to increase the pay range for many of its managers.

Human Resource Director Deborah Makowski met recently with members of the legislature’s Administrative Services Committee to discuss a local law for a management salary plan for county officers and employees.

A vote is expected next week.

Makowski told county lawmakers that the local law was drafted “in an effort to respond to recruitment and retention issues in a labor market that, honestly, none of us have ever seen before.”

She said the local law’s goal is to “increase most positions by a three salary grade” with a handful of exceptions. The exceptions would be executive assistant (no grade change); deputy county clerk and director public facilities (2 grades); and director of community mental hygiene services, director of finance, county attorney and director of human resources (four grades).

There are 101 job titles in total listed in the local law.

Malowski said the proposed changes will allow the county within the next year to create a plan to “appropriately pay our existing employees their years of experience in their positions, attract and recruit the best candidates for management positions by paying a salary closer to the market rates, and establish room for growth within the new salary grades.” This would also mean that departments wouldn’t have to seek approval through local laws for annual across-the-board increases for staff who are maxed out in their current range.

Malowski said they would like to do a market survey in the next three to four years to see where Chautauqua County falls and possibly make additional changes during the budget process. She said that would “move the county into a more competitive state.”

Should the local law be adopted, Malowski said there would be seven individuals who would need an immediate increase to get them to the new minimum of their new range. That would impact the county budget by $11,869 for all seven indivudals.

Any additional salary increases, Malowski said, are yet to be determined, but they would be provided for in the 2023 budget.

Budget Director Kathleen Dennison noted that the 2023 budget included a 3% raise for all managers. “Even with the ranges for these positions increasing, almost all of the managers are still within the new range,” she said.

Part of the reason for the proposed changes is because many of the managers are at the top of their range. “With the ranges going up, we can continue on our normal program of, lets say a 3% increase, and they would not be going out of the new ranges,” Dennison said.

The full list of positions and salary ranges proposed are as follows:

RANGE 4 $50,272 to $76,989

County Fire Coordinator, Deputy Director of Central Services (Office Services), Special Projects Coordinator , Deputy County Clerk

RANGE 5 $53,674 to $82,248

Administrative Assistant (DPW), Assistant to Commissioner of Social Services, Director of Emergency Management and Civil Defense, Director of Veterans’ Services, Director of Chautauqua County Youth Bureau, Executive Assistant

RANGE 7 $60,475 to $92,778

Assistant Construction & Maintenance Supervisor, Assistant Deputy Director of Public Facilities (Buildings & Grounds), Compliance/Privacy Officer, Deputy Director of Central Services (Purchasing), Deputy Director of Finance, Deputy Director of Office for the Aging Services, Financial Analyst to Legislature, Food Service Director, Health Administrator, Probation Supervisor 1, Purchasing Manager, Safety Coordinator, Senior Personnel Technician

RANGE 8 $63,879 to $98,038

Director of Emergency Services, Director of Patient Services, Insurance Administrator

RANGE 9 $67,272 to $103,302

Assistant County Attorney, Assistant District Attorney, Assistant Public Defender, Assistant Social Services Attorney, Construction & Maintenance Supervisor, Deputy Probation Director (Group B), Director of Administrative Services, Director of Central Services, Director of Certification, Director of North Chautauqua Lake Sewer District, Director of Office for the Aging, Director of Social Services, Epidemiology Manager, Manager of Airports, Mental Hygiene Program Coordinator, Sanitation Supervisor, Senior Personnel Technician/Deputy Director of Human Resources, Senior Project Coordinator (Transportation)

RANGE 10 $70,676 to $108,563

Corrections Lieutenant, Deputy Director of Planning, Deputy Director of Planning and Economic Development, Engineer III, First Deputy Director of Finance, Director of Real Property Tax Services III

RANGE 11 $71,229 to $113,826

Deputy Director of Community Mental Hygiene Services, Deputy Director of Public Facilities (Environment), Deputy Director of Public Works (Transportation), Deputy Public Health Director, Director of Environmental Health Services, Second Assistant County Attorney, Second Assistant District Attorney, Second Assistant Public Defender, Second Assistant Social Services Attorney, Warden

RANGE 12 $77,475 to $119,082

Budget Director, Deputy Commissioner of Social Services, Deputy Director of Public Facilities (Engineering), Deputy Sheriff Captain, Director of Emergency Services and Workplace Safety, Director of Nursing Services, Director of Office of Management and Budget, Director of South & Central Chautauqua Lake Sewer District, Public Health Director, Special Assistant for Medicaid

RANGE 13 $80,875 to $124,354

Assigned Counsel Administrator, Deputy County Executive for Economic Development, Director of Information Services, Director of Intermunicipal Services, Director of Planning, Director of Planning and Community Development, Director of Planning and Economic Development, First Assistant Social Services Attorney, Probation Director (Group B)

RANGE 14 $84,282 to $131,884

Chief Information Officer, Commissioner of Social Services, Director of Health Services, Undersheriff, Director of Community Mental Hygiene Services, Director of Finance, Director of Human Resources

RANGE 15 $87,692 to $139,414

First Assistant County Attorney, First Assistant District Attorney, First Assistant Public Defender, Legal Counsel to the Legislature, Social Services Attorney, Director of Public Facilities

RANGE 16 $91,102 to $146,944

Commissioner of Health Services, Director of Health and Human Services, Director of Mental Hygiene and Social Services

RANGE 17 $94,512 to $154,474

County Attorney

NON-SCHEDULED RANGES

Child Psychiatrist $180,049 to $264,967

Deputy County Executive (In addition to regular salary of designated department head) $7,436 to $30,000

Physician $98,851 to $247,752

Chief Medical Officer $175,000 to $400,000