Butts County, Georgia (the “County”) hereby invites qualified consulting firms to submit proposals to provide professional services related to a comprehensive Wage and Hour Classification, Compensation, and Staffing Study for Butts County government.

The County seeks an experienced firm specializing in wage and hour classification, compensation analysis, and organizational staffing studies for local government entities. The selected firm will evaluate the County’s current classification and compensation structure, determine and provide a new or updated classification and compensation plan, ensure compliance with applicable wage and hour laws, recommend updates where appropriate, and assess staffing levels necessary to adequately and efficiently provide County services. The desired outcome is classification and compensation plan that is structured properly and compensates competitively for a county anticipated to experience high growth in the next 5 years, and which anticipates workforce growth necessary to maintain a health service delivery level over that time.

Interested firms may review the entire Request for Proposal at the link below. Additional information may be found below the link pertaining to County demographics.

WAGE AND HOUR CLASSIFICATION STUDY

Addenda II Added August 12, 2026

Additional questions have been posed as shown below:

1. Of the 468 reported positions, how many are currently authorized, budgeted, and filled? All are authorized and budgeted; we currently have less than 20 vacant positions.
2. Does the reported total of approximately 164 classifications represent unique job titles, or does it include duplicated classifications across departments? Certain positions are duplicated in basic form (for example an office clerk may fulfill many of the same duties in different departments but also have special duties particular to the department they work in in addition).
3. Will the County provide the complete 2014–2015 Carl Vinson Institute study and all materials associated with the later internal pay-plan update? We will provide what data remains from that earlier study, which only covered non-constitutional and non-elected departments.
4. Are workload statistics available by department? No
5. Are presentations expected in person or virtually? How many? The County typically does first round presentations virtually. Finalists will be called in for a formal in-person interview.
6. Will the county assign weight to each evaluation criterion? Will that be provided to proposers in advance? There will be a grading scale by evaluators. I will have to get further guidance on whether that is provided ahead of time.
7. Should employee benefits be included a part of the market analysis, or is the study limited to base compensation only? No, this will strictly be related to classification and compensation. I cannot rule out that benefits will not be a discussion topic in a general way but this is intended to determine class and comp.
8. RFP requests updated job descriptions. Are updates expected for all positions or only for those requiring revisions as a result of the study? It is understood that there is the likelihood that some job descriptions that are more general in nature may not require updates, but we would expect all job descriptions to be reviewed and determined if they are still applicable to the present. We understand that the more significant classifications will probably require greater scrutiny and updates.
9. Section 4.D asks proposers to provide an estimated project duration. Does the County have a target completion date or an internal milestone the deliverables must support, such as adoption within a specific fiscal year budget or a scheduled Board action? Engagements combining classification, compensation, staffing analysis, and multi-year growth planning are typically sequenced across phases spanning several months, and confirming the County’s target date will allow proposers to structure the schedule so the County’s highest priority components are delivered first. (A-Our goal is to be finished in the first quarter of 2027 so that salary changes can be budgeted into the FY2028 budget.

   10. Referencing the County’s organizational structure effective July 1, 2026, please confirm the number of budgeted positions, unique job classifications, and filled positions in scope, broken out by department. Is the study limited to positions under the administrative authority of the Board of Commissioners, or does it extend to the independent constitutional offices, including the Sheriff’s Office and any detention personnel? Is elected official compensation in scope? This is answered in questions posted above.

   11. Does the requirement to provide updated job descriptions for all positions apply to all unique classifications or every individual position? When were the County’s job descriptions last updated? Yes on updated job descriptions. Last update was 2015 overall though some have been updated as things have changed.

   12. For the 2027 to 2032 growth pathway, has the County adopted population, land use, comprehensive plan, or economic development projections the consultant should use as the input assumption, or is developing those projections part of this scope? No, we use standard demographic date available.

   13. Has the County established a budget range or not-to-exceed amount, and is funding fully appropriated? If any portion is grant funded, please identify the source and any associated timing or reporting conditions. (We have not. We will be funding the study and results with new revenue sources that have been guaranteed from industrial construction projects.

   14. Has the County previously conducted a classification and compensation study, staffing analysis, or organizational review? If so, when, by which firm, and was it implemented? At project start, will the County provide the current classification plan, pay grades and salary schedules, and a payroll register including FLSA status and current salary, and in what format? Yes, a previous study was conducted by the Carl Vinson Institute of Government 11 years ago. All information will be provided to the selected consultant firm.

   15. Does the County intend a single award covering both the classification and compensation study and the staffing and growth analysis, or would it consider phased or separately priced scopes? We would considered a phased approach as the former is the higher priority than the latter.

Addenda I Added July 17, 2026

Scope and Information: Agencies and Positions

Workforce Demographics:

Butts County has a workforce consisting of 293 full-time positions and 175 part-time positions. These are broken out as follows:

AGENCIES NOT UNDER THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

• Clerk of Court: 5 Full Time; 2 Part Time; 4 Classifications
• Coroner: 1 Full Time; 2 Part Time; 0 Classifications
• Magistrate Court: 4 Full Time; 1 Part Time; 3 Classifications
• Probate Court: 5 Full Time; 0 Part Time; 4 Classifications
• Sheriff’s Office: 113 Full Time; 4 Part Time; 31 Classifications
• Tax Commissioner: 7 Full Time; 0 Part Time; 6 Classifications
• Clerk of Juvenile Court: 2 Full Time; 0 Part Time; 4 Classifications
• Board of Elections: 2 Full Time; 50 Part Time; 5 Classifications
• Extension Service: 4 Full Time; 1 Part Time. (Classified by University of Georgia)
• Board of Assessors: 6 Full Time; 5 Part Time Board Members; 7 Classifications
• Public Library: 2 Full Time; 4 Part Time; 3 Classifications

AGENCIES UNDER THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

• Administration Department: 10 Full Time; 0 Part Time; 11 Classifications
• Public Works Department: 24 Full Time; 15 Part Time; 15 Classifications
• Building Maintenance Department: 5 Full Time; 0 Part Time; 7 Classifications
• Planning Department: 4 Full Time; 10 Part Time Board Members; 8 Classifications
• Fire/EMS Department: 58 Full Time; 24 Part Time; 12 Classifications
• E-911 Communications: 16 Full Time; 4 Part Time; 7 Classifications
• Code Enforcement: 2 Full Time; 0 Part Time; 2 Classifications
• Animal Care & Welfare: 6 Full Time; 1 Part Time; 6 Classifications
• Emergency Management: 1 Full Time; 0 Part Time; 1 Classification
• Parks and Recreation: 9 Full Time; 35 Part Time; 11 Classifications
• Senior Center: 3 Full Time; 8 Part Time; 7 Classifications

The study would include all classified positions with the exception of actual elected officials, appointed board members and personnel who are classified by other entities such as the UGA Extension Service. Employees of the elected officials and appointed boards would be included in the study, including the employees of the Sheriff, Tax Commissioner, Probate Judge, Magistrate Judge and Clerk of Superior Court, and all employees of the Board of Commissioners and their departments.

Existing job descriptions exist for departments not under Constitutional Officers or other Elected Officials, as they have not participated in past studies. The existing job descriptions were created in 2015 by an outside consultant and have been updated as needed by internal County staff. These can be made available to interested parties in MS Word Format via a dropbox link.

The county uses Edmunds GovTech for HR management and payroll processing and select data can be exported into Excel.

The County last conducted an external class and comp study in 2014/2015 by the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute. This study did not include (per their choice) any of the agencies or employees under Constitutional or Elected Officials, which at the time made up roughly 50% of the County’s workforce. The County did an internal pay plan update approximately four years ago to bring pay up to more comparable levels to the job market. Job descriptions have been updated periodically as positions have changed but the basis of all descriptions are still the same.

Job Market & Growth Influences (Area of Competitive Study)

Butts County is situated in a job market that is experiencing rapid growth, as well as pressure from being located within commuting distance of both Atlanta and Macon. We border three considerably larger counties that include, in order of size, Spalding, Newton and Henry. The area we compete with for jobs includes these three counties, plus Lamar, Monroe, Jasper, Rockdale, Clayton and Bibb, all of which are less than an hour from Butts County. Because of our location, we typically have to pay more in salary and benefits that many other counties our size to be competitive and reduce attrition to other counties.

Rapid industrial growth at our two interchanges with Interstate 75 will result in higher service demand over the next five years as these are built out. Additionally, the construction of several data centers will bring in a daily construction workforce of approximately 5000 people per day, which will increase service demand over the several year period of this buildout.

Budget & Contract

The County has not set a budget range or ceiling for this scope of work. The County anticipates that a selection would be made in September/October of 2025 and the study would be complete in January to February so that financial considerations for funding future position plans can be integrated into the Fiscal Year 2028 budget planning process, which begins about that time.