Here’s what Manatee County government employees make per year

For many years, Manatee County has tried to keep up with salaries in the surrounding marketplace. But now the county has taken that effort to the next level.

This spring, the county entered into a contract with PayScale, which will give the county “real-time data on the changes in the marketplace, what employers are paying for different types of jobs in our surrounding community,” said Rodney Barnes, the county’s human resources director.

“PayScale, unlike the approach we have taken in past years, allows us to see specific data about the market and allows us to look at where our pay ranges are relative to what’s being reported in the marketplace, and look at what the gaps are,” he said.

While it is not the county’s goal to outpay the surrounding counties across the board, the county has lagged behind the market in the past, Barnes said.

“I think we have known for some time we don’t pay what Sarasota does. We don’t pay what Hillsborough, Pinellas does,” Barnes said. “We have some catching up to do with the surrounding marketplace. Our job is to make sure we are offering reasonable pay, so people can make a living here in the county.”

County department director annual salaries range from $118,996.80 to $156,977.60, and County Administrator Ed Hunzeker makes $209,185.60, according to county data.

County commissioners are paid $79,982.89 each, an amount set by the state.

Like many organizations, Manatee County is experiencing increased turnover — an average of 16 percent per year — largely due to Baby Boomers leaving, according to Barnes.

“Manatee County is not unusual,” he said. “We are at a place where a lot of organizations are right now, with Baby Boomers leaving the organization — a lot of folks going out the door that we need to replace. We’ve got to make some adjustments. We just don’t know specifically what all those adjustments will be.”

As the county continues looking at how their pay stacks up, Barnes said there are going to be some jobs where the average salary in the marketplace won’t cut it.

“There are going to be some places where competing in average of marketplace isn’t going to be enough to retain talent or get talent to come to Manatee County,” Barnes said. “We are going to have to identify what those hot spots are in the market. We know already that we have some spots that are pretty hot in the market, so paying an average wage is probably not going to be a successful strategy.”

In the meantime, Hunzeker is recommending continued funding for the Pay for Performance program in the fiscal year 2018 budget, as well as $500,000 to continue to address the county’s pay compression issues. The county commission is scheduled to approve the budget, which includes these recommendations, in September after two public hearings.

“A continued investment in our employees will mean more than simply increasing salaries to remain competitive with nearby local governments and private sector businesses,” Hunzeker said in the budget message he delivered in May. “It also means dealing with the extreme stress in our workforce that grows with each new service demand. More than just salaries, you should also consider a thorough evaluation of our employee benefits and a compensation study to ensure you are on track to meet employee demands of a new era.”

This story was originally published July 21, 2017 at 2:06 PM with the headline "Here’s what Manatee County government employees make per year."