County moving forward with wage study

WALLACE — The Shoshone Board of County of Commissioners approved a bid for a wage study Wednesday.

A wage study has been discussed for several years, but those conversations intensified over recent months as the county is navigating a potential multimillion-dollar budget shortfall. That shortfall, coupled with discussions of wage freezing for county employees, has many residents concerned with how the county is spending its funds.  

In April, the board discussed a $26,000 bid from Merdian-based firm AmeriBen. While the county did receive bids from other companies, those bids came with the caveat that the county would have to install their software onto the county’s computers to complete the work.  

Commissioner Tracy Casady said the price could be lowered by completing some of the work internally.  

The study will consider base wages, scope of responsibility, level of skill required, working conditions, benefits and longevity. 

“We promised the employees, just like the audit, that this would be an outside, unbiased study,” Casady said.   

Commissioner Jeff Zimmerman expressed concerns over the cost but also said he understood the need for such a study.  

“We’re out of balance in our departments,” Zimmerman said. “We need to see where we should be at and what’s fair.”