Studies Lead to Raises for 1,500-Plus County Employees

Since mid-2011, Arlington County has conducted pay studies that have resulted in more than 1,500 of its employees receiving raises.

The studies, which are not finished, are part of a broader effort to make the county government a competitive employer among neighboring jurisdictions and, in select cases, competitive with the private sector or federal government.

Compensation is projected to account for about 56 percent of county operating expenses for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1.

With budget discussions well under way, 46 jobs are on the table, about half of them vacant, along with salary increases for the remaining employees.

• What They Earn: Arlington County Salary Database
• Hourly Wages: Arlington County Part-Time Employee Database

Pay raises for county employees account for about $3.4 million in next year's proposed budget.

County Manager Barbara Donnellan's proposal also includes eliminating Columbus Day as a holiday for the local government's 3,500-plus employees.

The county began its compensation studies in July 2011.

Since then, 18 studies covering 1,950 positions — including law enforcement — have been completed. That's resulted in 80 percent of the studied employees receiving raises and 76 percent of those studied no longer maxed-out on the county pay scale.

Those raises — plus retirement and other employee costs the county must pay — cost Arlington $5 million annually.

That doesn't mean salaries were simply adjusted to match competitors, Donnellan said. If an employee's salary was determined to be 20 percent below the regional average, for instance, then that employee might have received a 3-percent raise. The county is working toward its competitiveness over time.

"We don't fully close the gap, we just work towards it," Donnellan said.

Forty studies, covering 1,350 positions, still need to be completed. Arlington County Human Resources Director Marcy Foster told Patch that the positions studied first were deemed the county's least competitive. It's realistic to assume that of the remaining positions, a smaller percentage would receive raises, she said.

"Our actual pay is very, very competitive," Foster told the Arlington County Board on Tuesday during a budget work session. "We're looking very good."

Local elected officials were presented with potential changes to employee pay in Fairfax and Prince William counties and the city of Alexandria.

Foster said her department looks to other jurisdictions when they are determined to be a competitor — the county competes with the private sector for IT jobs, for instance, or perhaps with the federal government for certain law enforcement or other positions.

"If we see a trend, that's where we're going to look," she told Patch.

Generally, the county has gone from about 78 percent of its employees lagging behind the market midpoint for their job two years ago to about 50 percent in that category so far this fiscal year.

Read more:

• Tax Increases: Arlington Residents Divided on How Big Hike Should Be
• Arlington County Full-Time Employee Salary Database
• Hourly Wages: Arlington County Part-Time Employee Database
• Schools Ask Arlington County for Bigger Share of Tax Revenue
• Fewer Community Police Officers? Board Weighs Budget Proposal
• Jail Programs Suffer Due to Lack of Staff
• Arlington County Real Estate Taxes Could Increase by Up to 5 Percent