County Council members frustrated by salary study timing, methods

A review of a salary study commissioned last year by Bartholomew County left some members of the County Council asking for legal action against the company that produced it.

The council held a work session this week to hear the report from Waggoner, Irwin & Scheele, a Muncie based company commissioned last spring by the county at a cost of $25,000. Kent Irwin with the company outlined the results of the study, which he said compared thousands of salaries in both the private and government sectors and took the salaries in the middle of the pay ranges to come up with the best models for Bartholomew County government employees.

However, several council members said they were frustrated and dissatisfied with the final product, especially the timing.

Councilman Matt Miller quizzed Irwin on why the study took so long, why it wasn’t done in time to set employee salaries last year at budget time, and whether the timing met the requirements under the contract with the company.

Council President Greg Duke also questioned the validity of the comparisons in the study, such as concerns about why northern Indiana counties were included.

Miller and Duke said that they wanted the county’s attorney to review the contract, but because it was a work session no action could be taken.