2.5 percent raise suggested for elected county officials

The Jefferson County Compensation Board is recommending a 2.5 percent salary increase for elected county officials, with the exception of a suggested 3 percent raise for the sheriff.

The Jefferson County Board of Supervisors cannot exceed the recommendation, but may reduce it by a consistent percentage during the budgeting process.

?When we started trying to upgrade to get our salaries in line on our county level, it took us eight, nine, 10 years to get it that way, and I still feel there?s some work that needs to be done in a couple departments,? said compensation board member Mel Allen during Thursday?s meeting.

He referred to a survey of county salaries that compares Jefferson County?s population ? 44th in the state ? to rankings of each elected official?s salary. The county attorney is in line at 44th, the county auditor at 46th, the county recorder at 45th and the county treasurer at 47th. The supervisors? salaries rank 29th in the state.

Allen pointed out the sheriff?s salary ranks 53rd in the state, lagging behind population.

?The raise that you would give to the sheriff is conversely given to his officers. They get 80 percent of what his is,? Allen explained. ?That was the reason I fought so hard to get rid of the $750 housing [allowance that had been granted the sheriff in addition to his salary up until this fiscal year]. It was an eyesore. It was something that was antiquated and hard to understand why he got it and why it wasn?t passed on. By putting that $750 in his salary, that also raised every one of those officers 80 percent of that, which helped them get back in line.?

Compensation board member Joe Smutz put 2.5 percent on the table as a starting point for discussion.

?It would be good to have something to work with that gives [the supervisors] some leeway one way or the other,? he said.

Though the compensation board has generally recommended an across the board raise in previous years, Allen suggested the discrepancy in the sheriff?s salary calls for special attention.

Compensation board member Andrew Edlin was concerned looking at individual salaries could open a can of worms. Last year, he said the board opted not to vary its recommendation based on length of term in office ? the issue had come up because of two newly elected officials.

Compensation board member Gloria Countryman supported a 3 percent raise for the sheriff and 2.5 percent raise for all other elected officials ? though she also was concerned about the reaction of department heads.

County treasurer Terri Kness, who sat in on the meeting, didn?t feel the difference would be a problem given the reasoning behind it.

?Three of you have been [on the board] longer than I. However, the years that I have been here, there?s been a genuine effort by everyone that represents their office to see that the office they?re representing gets as good of a raise as we can try to get them,? Smutz said. ?We need to get all of them up with what would be comparable throughout the state. With the type of jobs they?re doing in mind, the [sheriff?s office] is the only one that?s still above 50th in the state.?

?I personally think all of our offices get paid less than what they should,? Allen said.

?I think there?s a misconception in a lot of ways that a lot of these jobs are 8 [a.m.] to 5 [p.m.],? Smutz said. ?They are not. Anybody that has a public office knows that is not the fact.?

He used the county attorney as an example ? taking calls day and night and assisting with warrants whenever needed though none of it figures into his salary.

?Our courthouse in our particular community runs very, very efficiently,? Allen said.

When looking to reward elected officials, he said the board needs to be wary of burdening taxpayers. He said the economy has rebounded some from a year ago, but budgets are still tight.

Countryman said, ?I think we as a county are very efficient with the tax dollars we have.?

?Last year we did 2.5 when things were extremely tough, but it did give flexibility to the supervisors. Do we want to think of doing a little bit more and still [leaving it] up to the supervisors to decide?? Edlin asked. ?You want to have some acknowledgement of the fact that they?re doing well, and we?ve had another smooth, good year of operation.?

Compensation board member Ben Huff felt a recommendation equal to last year?s would send that signal.

The compensation board also took a 2 percent increase in the consumer price index into consideration.

The compensation board?s recommendation would increase salaries from $74,206 to $76,061 for the county attorney; from $48,800 to $50,020 for the auditor; from $48,497 to $49,709 for the recorder; from $61,669 to $63, 519 for the sheriff; from $31,060 to $31,837 for the supervisors; and from $48,548 to $49,762 for the treasurer.