HOLLIDAYSBURG — The pending retirement of an employee in the Blair County Controller’s Office is prompting the creation of a new staff position in the human resources department to take over many of the retiring employee’s payroll processing duties.

The Blair County Salary Board voted 3-1 Thursday to create the new job of payroll administrator at $30,000 annually, about $1,000 less than initially recommended by Human Resources Director Katherine Swigart.

The $30,000 starting pay is also $300 more than the $29,700 salary being paid to Sondra Hoefler, who has notified the county of her pending Oct. 3 retirement.

Salary board member and county Controller A.C. Stickel voted against the motion creating the position, pointing out that the $30,000 proposed pay exceeds the salary of the incumbent who has worked 21 years for the county.

Stickel described himself as being “OK” with the concept of moving the payroll processing job to the human resources office. But if he were going to replace Hoefler, the controller said he would have proposed a lower starting salary.

Swigart acknowledged that the transfer of responsibilities is something that’s been discussed over time in light of her office being the designated labor contract negotiator and monitor.

The person hired for the post, she said, will be expected to focus on the accuracy of the time cards and recognize the difference in negotiated labor contracts and resulting payroll calculations.

Commissioner Bruce Erb and Ted Beam Jr. said they would support Swigart’s request, with Beam pointing out that now is the time to make the change in light of Hoefler’s retirement.

Commissioner Terry Tomassetti acknowledged the proposed change as a way to improve the county’s operation. But Tomassetti, at first, said he wouldn’t support the proposal, pointing out that the salary board hasn’t been willing to address low pay for county attorneys and law clerks, another improvement needed in the county.

“I will approve this (the payroll administrator post) if you increase the law clerks’ pay to $37,000,” Tomassetti said. The county is currently hiring law clerks at $33,283 annually.

Stickel suggested $27,300 as the starting pay for the payroll administrator post.

“I think that’s too low,” Erb said.

Tomassetti, saying he was “conflicted,” subsequently relented, a move that created at least three votes in favor on the four-member board.

“We need this skill at this level,” Tomassetti said.

After Stickel said he would support the position but not at the originally proposed $31,012 salary, commissioners settled on $30,000 annually, but that wasn’t low enough for Stickel so he voted no.

Swigart said she would start the search for job candidates.

Swigart also will need to include the position in her department’s 2020 budget that will be under development as part of the county’s budget preparation process, which concludes in December with adoption and the setting of real estate taxes.

The county’s 2020 budget and pay rates are also expected to be influenced by the results of a study evaluating job duties and compensation to county employees, in comparison to levels paid by other public and private employers.

In June, John Felice of Felice Associates, the Greensburg-based company hired to complete the study, told the Mirror that the study would be finished in August unless informational-related glitches developed.

County salary board members said Thursday that they expect the study to be finished by the end of August.

Commissioners voted in June 2018 to hire Felice Associates to undertake the study, at $75,000 plus expenses.

In May, East Coast Risk Management LLC, a company with a Pittsburgh-area office, announced that it had acquired Felice Associates as a way of expanding its human resource services, especially in the public sector.

Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 946-7456.