MEMORANDUM

The Constitutional Officers for Fauquier County have requested that the Board of Supervisors supplement their salaries, and the salaries of their staff, in exchange for their agreeing to place their offices under certain of the County’s policies and regulations. Historically, the Board has agreed for a minimum of the last two terms of the constitutional officers to supplement the salaries of the constitutional officers and their employees. The proposed agreement:

Recognizes that all employees of the constitutional officers are employees of the officers and not the county regardless of who pays them;
Excepts all constitutional officer employees from the county’s conduct, disciplinary and grievance policies;
Includes all constitutional officer employees in the county’s competitive service system for purposes of hiring, appointment, promotion, transfer, classification and compensation, except that the constitutional officers are not required to follow the county’s hiring policies when filling a “policy-making position, confidential or personal staff position, or special sensitive law-enforcement position normally regarded as undercover work.”
Except as noted above the constitutional officers agree that they and their employees will be governed by the county’s personnel, procurement, travel, finance and donation policies;
Requires the Board to classify, grade and compensate constitutional officer employees in conformance with the County’s uniform pay and classification plan;
Requires the Board to supplement the salaries of the constitutional officers in amounts determined by the Board; and
Permits the Board to use any additional Compensation Board funds to supplant the Board’s supplemental pay.

This draft Supplemental Pay Agreement differs from the last agreement, which expired on December 31, 2003, in the following manner:

The agreement excepts all constitutional officer employees from the County’s conduct, disciplinary, termination and grievance policies. Under the previous agreement all employees of constitutional officers were covered by those policies. The effect of this amendment is to make these employees “at will” employees who can be disciplined or terminated for whatever reason without recourse unless the termination or disciplinary action was for a constitutionally prohibited reason or the officer failed to follow the constitutional due process requirement to give the employee a “Loudermill” hearing prior to termination.
Under the proposed agreement the constitutional officers are not required to follow county hiring policies and procedures when filing a “policy-making position, confidential or personal staff position, or special sensitive law-enforcement position normally regarded as undercover work.” Under the constitutional officer was required to follow all county hiring policies and procedures regardless of the nature of the position to be filled.