Following a survey to determine accurate job descriptions and competitive pay for Shell Rock River Watershed District employees, the watershed board approved pay increases of up to 19% for some of the district staff.

Recommendations on staff pay came following a wage survey conducted by Noah & Associates Inc. The raises, said Watershed District board vice chairman and personnel committee member Mick Delger, reflected an increase in duties, an adjustment recommended based on performance reviews and salary guidelines and wages consistent with nine salary surveys of nonprofit and for-profit businesses. This data also included published survey data for government jurisdictions in the southeast region of Minnesota, including cities, counties, state government data and metro watershed district data, the executive summary of compensation recommendations said.

The district administrator, technical specialist I (formerly titled conservation technician) and program/project manager I (formerly titled resource technician) each received a one-time wage adjustment to bring their pay in line with other watershed districts, Delger said. The district administrator received a 4% wage survey adjustment, while the technical specialist and program/project manager each received a 15% wage survey adjustment.

Future increases will be based on performance reviews.

“It’s not just a given,” Delger said. “You still have to perform.”

The district administrator, technical specialist, program/project manager, financial technician and education/outreach coordinator and administrative assistant all received 4% performance review increases.

All raises become effective July 1.

Board manager Brad Kramer said the staff works well together and has all the technical skills they need to do their jobs.

“It really sets our watershed apart,” Kramer said.

He said the board needs to work hard to keep the group intact, and that the wage survey and resulting increases were a step in a positive direction.

The compensation recommendation also emphasized staff retention.

“We are aware of the difficulty of hiring technical staff and endeavored to create a compensation structure to assist in retaining talent,” the executive summary read.

Watershed District Administrator Andy Henschel said an increasing amount of staff wages are paid for through grant reimbursements. What started as $9,000 in reimbursements in 2015 grew to $83,550 in 2019. In 2020, the district will be reimbursed $61,300 for staff time on grant projects.

“We are doing our due diligence when we go after these grants, looking to pay for some of that staff time that we put into it,” Henschel said.

Work to evaluate the staff began nearly a year ago to determine the accurate job descriptions and fair competitive pay for district employees, Delger said. District jobs were restructured in 2018 following the resignation of then-district administrator Brett Behnke. The staff went from six to five as Henschel, at the time the director of field operations, took on the role of administrator.

 

Wage increases

ADMINISTRATOR

2018 wages per hour: $47.95

2019 wage adjustment and performance review: $52.21

FINANCIAL TECHNICIAN II

2018 wages per hour: $29.50

2019 wage adjustment and performance review: $30.68

PROGRAM/PROJECT MANAGER I

2018 wages per hour: $26.65

2019 wage adjustment and performance review: $31.40

EDUCATION/OUTREACH COORDINATOR AND ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

2018 wages per hour: $21.16

2019 wage adjustment and performance review: $22.61

TECHNICAL SPECIALIST I

2018 wages per hour: $19.88

2019 wage adjustment and performance review: $23.77