OCR Text |
Show M ! By ROSELYN KIRK The decision on whether r3or county department wis will be covered by the roposed county merit plan ?ii be determined when the :ir member personnel sard acts, Horace Rose, javjs County Personnel Jrector said. THE QUESTION was raised J:nng the Mental Board of tj Health Advisory meeting. t' iiehard Youngberg, a mber of the council, sug-ii'M sug-ii'M that Dr. Russell T iiiiams, Executive Director d lit Mental Health Center, 1 should be protected under the lirit system.Under' the , posed merit plan, Dr.' ams, a department head, s exempt. j Mr. Rose pointed to the i m code which says, "The j &d of each major depart-' depart-' " charged directly by the rurning body shall be . iempt from the merit sys-i sys-i m." Commissioner Stanley inwt said that department ads should be tied into the -mt system since they are policy-making positions. I SCTH Blood, member of the ratal Health Advisory :?ard, said that Dr. "Jliams, who is appointed by Je county commission, rould be vulnerable to a ange in the commission." 'r Blood suggested the "atier be presented to the commission for further study. Mr. Rose said he feels that all department heads at a policy making level should be subject to the county commission com-mission so "they can reflect the wishes of the commission." commis-sion." But he said he "couldn't say what would happen until the personnel board acts." "THE THREE member personnel board, under the proposed county merit system sys-tem will adopt personnel rules and investigate appeals and grievances. The personnel person-nel board will "establish policies in conformance with state regulation," Mr. Rose said. .- . The personnel board will be appointed by the county commission com-mission as soon as the merit system is adopted. County commissioners have received five recommendations from both the Democratic and Republican committees. One personnel board member will be chosen from each list. The other member will be appointed ap-pointed by the commissioners. commis-sioners. DAVIS County employees are currently reviewing the merit system to see if they understand all the provisions. A meeting of county employees will follow in which the employees can question the provisions of the merit policy, Mr. Rose said. "The county has no option in adopting some form of merit system since it is required by state law," Mr. Rose said. "The law is optional op-tional only in counties which have less than 130 employees. Davis County exceeds this number." MR. ROSE said the county has spent two years working on steps leading toward the establishment of the merit . system. The first step was a classification study. The study classified and described each job, determined deter-mined how it was related to other jobs in the county, and gave each job a grade. The second step was the development of the salary schedule. The third step was to determine the procedure for applying the steps and grades. Since all of these procedural steps have been accomplished, Mr. Rose said-it said-it is "not a big step to adopt the merit system." "IF COUNTY employees understand un-derstand the procedure, there is no reason to be fearful," Mr. Rose said. In the past, department heads have had almost a free hand in selecting select-ing people to work. "With the merit system they will have to give up some of that." Under the proposed Davis County merit system, appointments ap-pointments and promotion will be based on job-related knowledge, skills, abilities, experience and education. Competitive examinations will establish eligibility lists. These examinations, in addition addi-tion to interviews, will provide a method for grading or rating each applicant and placing him on a register. A LIST will be prepared, listing most highly qualified employees. Department heads will pick employees from the top three candidates on the list. The Davis person-, nel board will decide how to examine some clerical help. Other examinations will be scheduled through the state employment office. Some examinations are oral while others are written. Mr. Rose feels a change in grade "should not be automatic, au-tomatic, but should come through experience and doing a good job." The Davis Compensation Com-pensation Plan, which determines deter-mines the grade and step of each employee, indicates what each job is worth to the county, Mr. Rose said. An increase in grade should require more from the employees. MR. ROSE is hopeful that the proposed merit pay plan will go into effect in the county by Jan. 1977. He feels it will result in higher quality and greater quantity of work, rk |