Pottawattamie County supervisors move courthouse clerks from union steps into non‑union pay grades

Pottawattamie County supervisors approved a motion to transfer courthouse employees listed under the dissolved clerk union pay steps into non‑union stepping grades shown on an updated payroll spreadsheet, a change officials said will take effect July 1.

County staff told the board they found discrepancies and a formula error in the spreadsheet prepared for the fiscal‑year payroll update and reviewed corrected totals with the county recorder and treasurer before bringing the item back for the special meeting. The personnel adjustments cover several classifications, including a clerk attorney and a part‑time treasurer position, and adjust starting wages for clerk positions to roughly $22 an hour.

The board discussed the budget impact of the moves. A supervisor stated the change will cost about $41,000 and that the county will need to identify funding to cover the increase. The board did not specify a funding source during the discussion.

Supervisor Wickman moved to place the affected employees into the non‑union stepping grades shown on the corrected spreadsheet; Supervisor Jones seconded the motion. The chair called for the vote and the motion advanced. Board members expressed appreciation for staff work to reconcile the payroll data.

Staff also recommended working with payroll systems (referenced as 'Tyler' or equivalent) to standardize job titles and labeling for part‑time positions so future reporting and audits will be clearer. That recommendation followed earlier comments that the formula used to compute some entries had been incorrect and required correction prior to implementation.

The action is scheduled to start July 1. Supervisors thanked Human Resources staff for preparing the corrections and said implementation will proceed while the board addresses where to absorb the added $41,000 in personnel costs.

The board moved on to the next agenda item after the vote.