Washington Township Overhauls Wage Structure, Boosts Bus Driver Pay

Article Summary: The Washington Township Board of Trustees has initiated a comprehensive review of its wage and job structures to align with state law, improve competitiveness for key positions like bus drivers, and modernize job descriptions to reflect current duties. The changes aim to attract and retain qualified staff by offering more competitive compensation packages.

Washington Township Wage Structure Key Points:

• All township positions will be updated to a minimum starting wage of at least $15 per hour, as required by state law.

• The board is considering a higher starting rate, guaranteed minimum hours, and increased salary caps for bus drivers.

• Job titles and descriptions are being updated, including eliminating the long-unused “Administrative Assistant” role and renaming “General Office” positions to “Office Coordinator.”

• Assessor Pat Peters will help align the bus driver job description with Pace vanpool requirements.

BEECHER, IL – Washington Township is undertaking a significant overhaul of its employee wage structure and job descriptions, aiming to modernize its pay scales and enhance its ability to compete for essential staff, particularly bus drivers. At their August 4 meeting, the Board of Trustees reviewed the township’s current compensation plans and approved several updates to better reflect state law and market demands.

A key component of the overhaul is ensuring all township positions start at a minimum of $15 per hour, in line with Illinois state law. Beyond this baseline, trustees engaged in a detailed discussion about making the bus driver position more attractive. Recognizing the challenges of a split-day schedule, the board is considering not only raising the minimum starting rate for drivers but also guaranteeing a minimum number of paid hours for the days they work.

The discussion also included potentially raising the maximum salary cap for both office help and bus drivers, a move intended to improve employee retention. The specific amounts for these increases will be determined after all current job descriptions have been officially updated to accurately reflect the responsibilities of each role.

As part of the modernization effort, the board is streamlining its official job titles. The “Administrative Assistant” position, which has not been filled for many years, will be formally eliminated from the wage structure. Concurrently, the titles of “General Office” and “General Office & Bus Driver” will be updated to “Office Coordinator” and “Office Coordinator & Bus Driver,” respectively, to better match the terminology in the official job descriptions.

To ensure the township’s requirements are current, Assessor Pat Peters, who has an extensive background in transportation and experience with Pace, will review the “Bus Driver” job description. Her review will focus on ensuring the qualifications and responsibilities align with Pace’s current vanpool driver requirements.

In a related action, the board reviewed the Office Coordinator job description. Several non-driving transportation responsibilities that currently fall under “other duties as assigned”—such as opening mail and checking in bus drivers—will be explicitly added to the document to more accurately define the position’s duties. The board also noted that the “Transportation Director” job description is no longer required.

The updates to the wage structure and job descriptions are part of a broader effort to ensure the township operates efficiently and can continue to provide reliable services to its residents.