Northampton County Pay Study Fails Its Centurions

Gaius Julius Caesar would laugh at Northampton County's pay study. Caesar was a populare who improved living conditions for his fellow Romans. But he'd quickly ignore any report telling him to freeze wages, even cost of living increases, for his most valuable workers. That's the fatal flaw of Northampton County's recently completed Hay study, which in its current form is headed for a quick rejection by county council.


Widely considered considered one of the world's most brilliant military tacticians, Caesar regularly screwed things up. When he landed in Britain, for example, nearly all the ships carrying him and his troops were destroyed, cutting off supplies and making quick evacuation impossible. He nevertheless always came out on top in any martial adventure. His legionnaires, often outnumbered and hungry, fought like hell, probably harder than any army. They adored him, and the feeling was mutual. He may not have been very familiar with the tribunes and legates at the top of his many legions, but knew every centurion by name. He understood that centurions, or middle managers, were the ones who make things happen. Every good officer knows that sergeants run an army. That's the chief flaw in whatever methodology was used to complete the Hay study. It sneers at the members of the county workforce who actually make things happen.

Was the Hay Study a Good Idea?

Absolutely. The last time anyone bothered looking at its pay structure was in 1991, when Barstan was paid $40,000 to recommend a new system. That resulted in 270 employee appeals, but was intended to make sure that workers were paid wages similar to what their counterparts in other counties were getting.

Over the last sixteen years, county wages have once again gone awry. Two years ago, during a radio show, County Executive John Stoffa made clear it's time the county workforce be paid a living wage. He listened as workers called in to say they are on food stamps or home heating assistance. He promised that the county's antiquated salary structure would get a much-needed overhaul.

He kept his word.

Did That Six-Member County Worker Committee "Taint" the Findings?

At first blush, it really does appear that county employees should be kept away from any study in which they evaluate their own salaries. It's already led to charges that this committee made sure to take care of themselves while hosing other county workers.

But at Friday's meeting with the Personnel Commission, it became fairly clear that this argument has no merit. Ron Seifert, the Hay Group's spearhead in Northampton County, noted that Hay actually did about 100 evaluations itself. The rest was performed by a committee.

"Our objective was to find a way to give the county a system that they can manage and maintain on their own and not rely on us to deliver the results. We ended up working with and training this committee. . . . We did the first step of the job evaluations for the county, which included all the senior management and executive level positions and quite a number of jobs beneath those positions."

The remaining evaluations, performed by the committee, were reviewed by Hay. "We agreed on some, we disagreed on others. Ultimately, the report is our assessment of the positions." Seifert explains, "When there was debate, I ruled."

Because Hay did the senior positions itself and reviewed and even disagreed with some of the positions evaluated by the committee made up of county workers, it's hard for me to accept the insinuation that this group is biased.

In fact, Hay's objective is that the county perform an annual salary structure review. "Little by little, it raises the ceiling." Seifert notes it's impossible to find "volunteers" who would be willing to perform these time-consuming evaluations.

Human Resources Director Connie Sutton Falk presented a strident defense to the widespread claim of committee bias. "I think it's been completely unjust. . . . Their credibility has been chastised publicly. They don't deserve it. They focus on the job, not the person. They did not muck with any of the information. When the market study came back and showed that people were going to get $49 as a pay increase, or $73, and we knew that those people would be upset, or $0, they did not go back and try to inflate anything or falsify anything. It is what it is. Their evaluations were pure Hay and we would not have evaluated them any other way than the way we were taught to do them by Hay. That's something that needs to be said, on the record and to the public, because the accusations are totally and completely false. They should not be treated the way they have been, which is why two of my members are not here today. They did not want to be crucified again."

Is the Study Perfect?

Even with an across-the-board 7% pay increase to the county's non-union workforce in January, the Hay study still concludes that the pay is slightly below the median of wages paid in bordering and other third class counties. In aggregate, we are six per cent below the middle of the road. That's good news for most county workers.

But amazingly, it's bad news for the county's most valuable employees - the centurions.

"Long-tenured employees, over time, tend to get payraises. Without a conscious strategy to slow that down, what happens is . . . they continue to clip up the scale. . . . "

Seifert concludes that many of these people are "above market." After stating that, a few row officers walked out, not very pleased at being told they are paid too much.

Possible Flaws

1) If the Hay Study is adopted as is, the starting wages for a sergeant, $38,007, will be lower than the $38,388 salary paid to starting deputies. Sheriff Jeff Hawbecker notes that this compression issue has "shattered my staff." One sergeant has already reverted to deputy.

2) County row officers are underpaid. Northampton County, unlike many of the other counties used for comparison, appoints its row officers. These are not elected positions or political plums. Persons who head those departments are expected to display a high degree of professional competence in their field. The Hay methodology, as it applies to row officers, is flawed.

3) The Hay methodology punishes, instead of rewarding, those employees who make up the county's backbone. These are the county's centurions. Controller Steve Barron put it very nicely - they "are the best of the best that work for the county."
Possible County Changes

The county has recommended going along with the Hay study, with a few minor changes.

Sutton-Falk proposes increasing the starting salary to sergeants, but by too low a figure to be satisfactory to Sheriff Hawbecker.

Without other changes that reward the county's centurions, this proposal is DOA when it hits county council.