Mahoning County pay study won't guarantee raises, but promises no cuts


YOUNGSTOWN

No pay raises can be guaranteed to Mahoning County employees as a result of a forthcoming compensation and classification study.

But nobody’s pay will be reduced because of it, the county human resources director recently said in a memorandum to elected officials and department heads.

If the new study’s results, however, mirror those of a similar study performed for the county a decade ago, which yielded double-digit pay increases for some key employees, pay raises won’t be out of the question.

Civil-service law permits pay reductions for county employees only for reasons prescribed by state law, and this study isn’t among them, said Karen U’Halie, HR director.

On June 30, the county commissioners approved a $65,000 agreement with Evergreen Solutions LLC of Tallahassee, Fla., to perform the study, which will compare county employees’ compensation with that of their peers performing similar work in other government entities, locally and regionally.

“I don’t think you’re going to find anybody that’s overpaid here,” said Carol Rimedio-Righetti, chairwoman of the commissioners.

“This is not really just about giving raises. ... This is to show comparatives throughout Mahoning County with all different departments and different positions,” she said.

Read more of commissioners' reasoning in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.