Buncombe elections board presses county on hiring authority, classification and pay study

Chair opened a May 21 Buncombe County Board of Elections meeting and invited county budget director John Hudson and human resources director Shauna Shepherd to brief the board on salary budgeting and classification practices. The discussion focused on how salaries are calculated, who makes final hiring decisions for election-services staff, and the scope of an existing memorandum of understanding between the board and the county.

John Hudson, Buncombe County budget director, described the county budget calendar and statutory constraints, noting the Local Government Budget and Fiscal Control Act requires balanced budgets. "Salaries and benefits make up roughly 46% of the general fund budget expenditures," Hudson said, and he pointed board members to a budget-explorer dashboard with line-item detail for salaries, benefits and other costs. Hudson said the recommended FY2027 general-fund budget is $485,055,095 with $72,600,000 budgeted in the general government function, and that vacancies, turnover and a January base run determine how salary totals are estimated.

Board members pressed for clarity about who hires, disciplines and sets starting pay for elections staff. One board member said the countys organization chart shown to county commissioners omitted the Board of Elections and “misinforms the county commissioners” about reporting relationships; the member added that "if county management wanted to change the elections director, they have no authority to do so." That claim was raised as a concern about how the chart and county practices represent the separate authority of the elections board and the director.

Shauna Shepherd, Buncombe County human resources director, said HR supports departments with recruitment, screening and policy oversight and described the classification and compensation study the county is finalizing a contractor to perform. "We are in the process of finalizing a contractor so our vendors can look at our positions," Shepherd said, explaining the study will review position names, appropriate compensation ranges and pay practices across comparable counties. She emphasized that pay adjustments such as cost-of-living increases are presented to and approved by the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners.

The board asked that the elections director be empowered to extend job offers and negotiate starting pay within classification bands so the office can avoid losing top candidates during HR negotiations. Board members said prior negotiations sometimes resulted in hiring second- or third-choice candidates and that the board would like the director to be able to make offers consistent with published classification parameters. Shepherd responded that hiring authority varies by position level, that hiring managers make final selections within policy, and that HR may raise concerns if a candidate does not meet minimum qualifications or policy criteria.

Members also pointed to a 2022 memorandum of understanding and to a personnel ordinance provision that exempts the director of elections and election-services employees from some county personnel rules; Shepherd and Hudson both acknowledged the MOU and said county HR provides payroll, benefits and administrative support while respecting statutory and MOU limits. The HR director and the assistant county manager said they were willing to review specific questions and work collaboratively with the board to clarify boundaries.

The board and county staff agreed to review the existing MOU and county personnel policies and to continue the conversation; board members stressed urgency because an election is scheduled this year but recognized that substantive changes may need to await a post-election schedule. The group set a follow-up special meeting for May 28 at 1:00 p.m. to finalize a separate badge-access resolution and encouraged staff to circulate the updated document in advance.

Next steps: county staff and board members will review the MOU and personnel-policy language and return with proposed clarifications. The board scheduled the May 28 special meeting to consider the badge-access resolution and to continue MOU discussions.