Arlington government leaders will no longer be required to show that employees receiving bonuses are deserving based on merit, under a proposal slated for a public hearing and likely enactment in July.
County Board members on June 10 are slated to set a July 15 public hearing on changes to the county government’s civil-service code, stripping a past requirement that bonuses be restricted to “exceptional services rendered.” The change would allow the county manager to establish a broader array of bonus programs, which staff say is needed to address challenges in hiring in areas like public safety and mental health.
“The county [government] is experiencing high turnover with prolonged vacancy rates in many critical positions,” noted a staff report authored by Tamara Galliani, who heads the government’s recruitment and compensation staff. Her report does not go into detail about the reasons county officials believe the local government is having a difficult time in recruiting and retaining qualified applicants.
Until 2003, state law restricted local-government bonuses to employees who rendered “exceptional services.” While in place for 20 years, the Arlington government had not updated its ordinances to account for the change.
