Butler County is above other fourth-class counties in respect to average salaries for employees according to numbers from December 2015.

The Butler County salary board Thursday adopted salary ranges for nonunion jobs.

County Commissioner Leslie Osche, board chairman, said that the pay grade schedule would be tweaked before it is fully implemented.

“This is a starting point,” she said. “We have the next three months to make changes to this.”

Osche said the salary ranges provide a structure for ensuring county workers are paid fairly according to their duties.

The salary board voted 3 to 1 to adopt the schedule. Commissioners Kim Geyer and Kevin Boozel sided with Osche.

County Controller Ben Holland dissented, saying he needed to see exactly how the Archer Co. derived the numbers setting pay ranges.

“I don’t have the supporting detail,” Holland said.

He said more information is needed to justify the ranges.

Geyer suggested Archer explain its methodology for the $16,000 study at a future salary board meeting.

Boozel said the study’s salary ranges probably should have been implemented in 2013 or 2014. He stressed any adjustments to salaries of posts would take time.

“It’s not going to happen overnight,” Boozel said.

Holland, who expressed support for setting ranges at some point, was not swayed to act now.

“There’s so many missing pieces,” he said. “It’s a little too messy for me right now.”

Holland said although the study used comparisons to other fourth-class county salaries, his research into 2015 numbers show county workers are well compensated.

“We’re significantly above other counties,” he said. “Are we competitive? Absolutely.”

According to a chart Holland provided, Butler County’s average salary is $53,339.46.

Average salaries for the other eight fourth-class counties range between $36,697.70 in Cambria County and $48,263.94 in Beaver County.

Fourth-class counties have populations ranging between 145,000 and 209,999 people.