Dubois County’s plan to use college students to study county wages is nearly official.
Dubois County Councilwoman Charmian Klem, who has been spearheading the charge for a county wage study, briefed the Dubois County Commissioners at their regular meeting Monday about submitting an initial project description for the Indiana University Kelley School of Business accounting students who will conduct the study for nearly no cost.
“This is just an overview of what we would like to see at the end of the study period,” Klem said of the letter, which is due May 1.
The county employs about 200 full-time and 100 part-time employees, and many of their job descriptions will be updated and presented to the students by the fall semester when work on the project will begin. County representatives will have their initial meeting with students Aug. 24 and a final presentation will be given between Nov. 28 and Dec. 9.
“This study will assist the (Dubois) County Council in setting and adjusting wages and benefits long-term,” the letter reads. “In order to achieve this, Dubois County government will work with the IU Kelley School of Business to build a survey tool, which will be used to collect data from comparable organizations and local industry, which the county will assist in identifying.”
After data is collected, students will analyze it and make recommendations to the county council regarding specific positions. Once finalized, the county is expecting to receive a full analysis of wage ranges (minimum, mean and maximum), benefits and a comparison of “how each position ranks with the study data and recommendations for adjustments to each job description/classification.”
For the study, benefits will be defined as an employer’s contributions to medical, dental and vision insurance, an employer’s contributions to a retirement plan and paid time off and overtime practices. Klem noted that some job descriptions such as truck drivers and administrative positions will be grouped and explored together, since it would be too expensive to study all 300 county positions.
“We won’t be able to classify each individual job in the county,” Klem said. “If we were to pay somebody for that, it would be like a $250,000 study.”
The county has experienced lagging employee satisfaction and five consecutive budget shortfalls, which puts it in a precarious position. The council needs to balance the budget, but it also might be time for raises for some county employees, since almost 30 percent of county workers expressed dissatisfaction with their salaries in a survey distributed last year to about half of the county’s employees.
Using students to conduct the study provides a cheap alternative to an accounting firm, which can charge as much as $50,000, as the county learned in 2014 when it explored using Muncie-based Waggoner Irwin Scheele & Associates to lead a wage study. For this study, the cost is free, but the county will have to reimburse small items such as mileage and copying fees.
Students accepted into the IU accounting graduate program are considered academically exceptional, averaging a 3.5-3.6 GPA on a four-point scale, according to last year’s course syllabus. Klem has said the students are on the verge of being professionals and that she’s hopeful the council can find a way to help deserving employees secure raises while also continuing to work toward balancing the budget. The project description is considered an evolving document that can change as the study moves along.
“It’s a fluid proposal,” Commissioner Elmer Brames said. “It can change during the course of the study. This is not a contract.”
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