Warren County Judicial Commissioner Jim Hartman has withdrawn his letter of resignation as supervisor over that department.
The county Policy and Personnel Committee met Thursday and considered proposals by Hartman that would provide him with a salary increase of $4 an hour and allow him to work on-call (leave the jail when he is not needed) rather than a traditional 40-hour shift where he is onsite during those hours. He has also requested a $2 salary increase for his staff.
“I’m requesting a $2 raise for the judicial commissioners, but I’m seeking a $4 raise for the position that I have because it entails the added responsibilities of the administrative duty,” said Hartman.
Two years ago, the county gave all judicial commissioners a $2 an hour raise to stem their turnover rate within the department. Hartman was given an additional $2 last year for his added responsibilities, bringing his salary up from $8.72 an hour to $12.72 an hour.
Hartman presented committee members a list of “comparable, judicial commissioner positions and starting rates of pay” for judicial commissioners and supervisors in six other counties.
• Blount County: $13.82 an hour; supervisor $16.82
• Coffee County: $12.29 an hour; supervisor $15.12
• Cumberland County: $12.88 an hour; supervisor $15.59
• Rutherford County: $14.95 an hour
• Wayne County: $18.90 an hour
• White County: $13.70 an hour
“These are the ones I could get,” said Hartman. “Some counties required a request in writing. I didn’t have time to do that. Coffee and White counties would probably be the most comparable to us in terms of population.”
Hartman says he works two jobs at the same time – as a judicial commissioner on the busiest shift and as supervisor over the other employees.
“Please don’t think that I’m disgruntled,” said Hartman. “That would bother me. I’m not disgruntled about anything. The series of events has gotten to the point where it’s confining. The day shift, as a general rule, is the most active shift we have, because, unlike the evenings and nights, we have an open-door policy where folks can just walk in. The day shift is the most active shift. It calms down in the evening when the doors lock.”
Commissioner Carlene Brown voiced a desire to retain Hartman as supervisor.
“I want to say something about this that really concerns me,” said Brown. “First and foremost, the biggest reason that we are here, is that we all agree that we really wanted to try to keep Jim on as supervisor because of his job performance. He has done a very good job. His education, his skills and his experience are an asset to the county. I think when you look at our hourly rate in comparison to these other counties, we are definitely the lowest pay scale here.”
She urged the county to call in the County Technical Assistance Service (CTAS) for a review of the pay scale in every department and provide them with a pay scale to go by.
Commissioner Tommy Savage is against the salary increase.
“Judicial commissioners got their $2 per hour raise in 2015-16. This was the largest across-the-board raise employees had ever gotten,” said Savage. “In 2016-17, you got the $2 raise. I’ll just tell you that I caught a lot of grief over that. I went out and job shadowed David Williams one night. I do have more appreciation for your job, because I know you have to sit down beside people who have done bad things and explain what you’re doing and why the bond is this high. It’s a stressful job. However, every county employee is going to tell me the same thing about their job. A lot of them would like to have a $2 an hour raise.”
Committee members unanimously approved allowing Hartman to work as an on-call supervisor, a change that must receive full Warren County Commission approval because it goes against the job description approved by the commission.
Committee members voted 3-1 to send the proposed budget, requested salary increases included, to the county Budget and Finance Committee for consideration. Savage voted against it.