GAINESVILLE - At least for now, there won't be any changes in the way Hall County employees are paid. Earlier this month, District 3 Commissioner Scott Gibbs asked county staff to research how much money the county would save by paying employees twice per month rather than every other week.<br />
<br />
County Human Resources Director Bill Moats told commissioners Monday afternoon at their work session it's not the number of pay periods that is costly, but it's the way time and attendance for each employee is collected. He said the overall process needs to be changed, but that will take some time.<br />
<br />
"Right now, we're inconsistent in the method, and it's very labor intensive," said Moats.<br />
<br />
In fact, there are 68 employees who are "time keepers" across county departments who are charged with calculating time and attendance for the county's 1,500 employees. Typically, it takes four days to process all of the information for each payroll period, according to Finance Director Vickie Neikirk.<br />
<br />
Moats said the current process was in place when he became the county's Human Resources Director, so he's unsure why the methods are so varied. <br />
<br />
"For example, some departments don't have their employees clock in or out at all - it's all either hand-written or...they fill in an Excel spreadsheet or something," said Moats. "Other departments use a time clock, but that time clock varies by department."<br />
<br />
Currently, the county's human resources and finance departments are working on an upgrade to computer systems that should make payroll processing and other tasks more consistent, and therefore, more manageable. Moats said, however, that process will take several months. <br />
<br />
Bottom line for county employees - they will continue to be paid every other Friday.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
