County jail administrator argues present pay system out of balance

MACHIAS — Anyone who thinks that department heads in Washington County government are paid according to their position and the responsibilities, should think again.

Take Washington County Jail Administrator James Foss, for example.

Foss is responsible for administering a 32-bed jail complex housing people ranging from convicted or accused drunken drivers to murderers and thieves. He also supervises a work force that includes 16 corrections officers, a cook, assistant cook, program training director and a jail clerk.

His is a salaried position without overtime that earned him $21,671 in 1990 and would jump to an annual salary of $27,000 in 1991 if the recommendation by Sheriff Harold Prescott is approved.

By comparison, County Clerk Ilze Balodis, who now earns $21,571 a year based on a 35-hour work week, would realize a pay increase of $2,790 to $24,361 in 1991. Add in $2,384 being requested for overtime, which she earns when acting as meeting secretary for the county commissioners, and her pay in 1991 could reach $26,745.

But, as Foss said Wednesday, salary and wage inequities resulting from the lack of a consistent method of setting pay rates for county employees extend deep into his own department.

According to Foss, the senior ranking corrections officer working under his supervision will earn slightly more than him, even without overtime.

Two other guards will, without overtime, nearly match what Foss is expected to earn next year, he said. Overtime will boost their pay over that of their supervisor.

Norris Manchester, who serves as the county’s buildings and grounds maintenance supervisor, is in charge of one other maintenance worker. Manchester’s annual salary will jump from $26,470 this year, to $28,045 in 1991. Balodis argued Thursday that, because of a job reclassification study more than a year ago, Manchester is not a custodian.

His title may have changed, but his duties have not. If anything, his workload has decreased while his pay — which jumped from $17,578 to $26,470 between 1989 and 1990 — continues to climb.

Demolition of the county-owned Bagley building behind the county courthouse and jail complex last year, and the use of county prisoners for janitorial and cleaning duties at the jail and Sheriff’s Department, have reduced Manchester’s workload.

Manchester also holds a private contract with the county for trash removal at the courthouse complex. The contract, which Foss said has never been put out to formal bid, is renewed annually by the commissioners, earning Manchester another $1,045 a year above his salary.

Foss, along with other county employees, argues that the present pay system is out of balance when weighed against job responsibilities and risk factors in other county positions.

Patrol deputies and corrections officers will receive between $16,000 and $23,000 this year. Even with an 8 percent union-negotiated salary increase, cost-of-living adjustment and within-grade pay hikes, most corrections officers at the county jail and full-time sheriff’s deputies will continue to earn less than the county clerk and others occupying low-risk positions within Washington County government.