Churchill County Commissioners voted Oct. 2 to revive the position of Assistant Road Supervisor and promoted longtime employee Karl Zulz to the role. Zulz has worked in the Road Department for more than 22 years, including over a decade as Road Maintenance/Construction Foreman.
Road Department Supervisor Gary Fowkes asked commissioners to approve a departmental reorganization after the loss of several key employees. His proposal included reinstating the assistant supervisor position while eliminating two others, the Road Maintenance/Construction Foreman and Lead Mechanic, in favor of hiring a regular mechanic. That change, he said, will save the department $10,470.
Additional savings came from the recent retirement of the office supervisor. The newly hired replacement earns less, saving $27,730 annually, while a new Office Specialist will start at Step 1, saving another $4,350. Altogether, the restructuring is expected to save the county $42,550.
With Zulz’s promotion, commissioners once again turned to the county’s personnel policy, which structures how employees are placed within the pay scale. According to Title 3, an employee promoted internally is placed at the lowest step in the salary range two steps above their current pay. Exceptions may be granted in two cases: when facing a difficult recruiting problem or when hiring someone with superior qualifications.
By policy, Zulz would have landed at Grade 69, Step 5. But county staff argued his long service and institutional knowledge qualified him for advanced placement. Commissioners agreed, approving him at Step 10, with an annual salary of $106,829.
This marks the fourth time in 2025 that commissioners have approved an advanced step appointment. Earlier this year, County Manager Chris Spross, Library Director John Hong, and Assistant County Manager and Human Resources Director Joseph Sanford all entered their positions at higher-than-usual steps.
Spross, Sanford and Zulz each received exceptions based on superior qualifications and extensive county experience. Hong, who joined the county from outside, was hired under the “difficult recruiting problem” provision. The library has had three directors in as many years, and board members felt offering a higher salary was necessary to attract and retain leadership.
Not all commissioners have agreed with the practice. In June, during the hiring of the new county manager, Commissioner Eric Blakey opposed the advanced step placement. He argued that policy should place internal promotions at Step 1 in the new pay grade with standard 2.5 percent annual increases, not Step 3 with 5 percent raises. Blakey said he respected Spross’ qualifications and county service but believed the decision set a precedent that could appear unfair to other employees.
When asked in October whether the policy itself needs to be updated or enforced more consistently, Blakey acknowledged the challenge.
“It’s a balancing act between following policy but leaving employees room to grow,” he said. “I don’t know if the policy is the problem, or if we’re behind on paying people appropriately. The only thing we can offer is money.”
The county has already seen how recruitment challenges can strain departments. The District Attorney’s office reported in April that the only qualified candidate for a Deputy DA position received a substantially higher salary at his last job in another Nevada jurisdiction. Meanwhile, the Public Defender’s office has struggled to fill vacancies for more than a year. In an effort to draw applicants, the office created a Legal Intern position.
At the Sept. 17 commission meeting, County Manager Spross said Human Resources and his office will launch a countywide compensation study and present a strategic plan within 30 days, with results expected before the next budget cycle.
Commissioners now find themselves balancing competing priorities: adhering to policy while offering enough incentive to keep positions filled. With the road department’s restructuring approved, they will be watching whether the balance of savings and salaries helps stabilize staffing across county offices.
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