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Board of Supervisors Memo
Employment Vacancies, Challenges, and Solutions
Oct. 11, 2021
By Sam Elters, County Manager
Background
Due to the ongoing impacts and aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mohave County continues to experience excessive employment vacancies with significant turnover affecting virtually every department, including but not limited to, Assessor, Development Services, Public Health, Public Works, Sheriff’s Office and Jail, Probation, Courts, and Library. Vacant positions throughout the departments span all levels of responsibility, including leadership/managerial roles, professional, administrative/clerical, technical, certified positions, and more.
Due to the abundance of open positions and reduced number of qualified applicants, Mohave County is facing employment challenges vastly different than in the past. Wages have increased in all markets resulting in competition across private and public sectors (such as hospitality, professional, healthcare, etc.) for employees. With Mohave County pay starting at $12+ per hour (minimum wage), we are losing current and potential employees to the service industry now paying $15+ and offering incentives. The cost of turnover and ongoing vacancies is taking its toll.
Given the regular, normal workload of Mohave County employees—combined with vacancies and implementing the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 budget plan, capital improvements, and American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) projects—the ability of remaining employees to provide Mohave County services at a level expected and deserved by citizens is stretched thin.
The county’s priority projects total almost $75 million and can only be successful if Mohave County is able to hire qualified people and hold on to current employees to carry them forward. Even outsourcing requires internal expertise to provide professional and administrative oversight.
Plan of Action
Mohave County needs to act on a compensation enhancement package that will help attract and retain qualified employees. We propose the following:
- Increase Mohave County wages
Increase the wage of every County employee (excluding elected officials) by $1 per hour in FY 2022 and $1 per hour in FY 2023. The estimated cost is about $2 million in the General Fund in FY 2022 and $2 million in FY 2023, for a total of $4 million. These raises will enable Mohave County to:- Compete with other industries through offering livable wages.
- Encourage current employees to stay within Mohave County.
- Reinstate annual performance evaluations based on established salary increases or “steps,” promoting verticality within the county.
- Invest in wide-reaching hiring campaigns and professional career advancement series to bring on new staff and support Mohave County’s priority projects.
- Use Congress-approved funds
The Federal Local Assistance funds have already been approved by Congress. Mohave County should receive about $5 million in Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2022 and $5 million in FFY 2023, for a total of $10 million.- These funds are allocated to help local governments emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. Mohave County is using these funds to enhance the recruitment and retention of employees.
- In addition, using these funds does not impact property tax, nor sales tax, and can cover multiple years of the compensation enhancement package.
Additional Considerations
Effective January 1, 2022, the minimum wage in Arizona will increase from $12.15 to $12.80. This is based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in accordance with a voter-approved initiative. The Board of Supervisors has no choice; the minimum wage increase is required.
In addition, elected official’s salaries are slated for adjustment in 2025 (Clerk of the Courts, 2023); therefore, these salary adjustments are not included in this proposal.
Proposal Summary
In conclusion, in order to retain current employees and hire new staff, this memo proposes increasing Mohave County’s starting wage by $2.00, raising it to $14.50, and this initiative will take place over the course of the next two years.
In addition, Mohave County will use the Federal Local Assistance funds approved by Congress to facilitate economic recovery.
Furthermore, each position has a salary range from low to high, with ten steps separating them, requiring staff to stay for ten years to reach the top of the range. This proposal includes reducing the steps on the salary schedule from ten to seven or eight. This enables employees to reach the top of the salary range in less time, and annual performance evaluations tied to step increases would be reinstated.
The Mhelting Pot 