Jefferson County Compensation Board proposes 5.5 percent salary increase for elected officials

FAIRFIELD — The Jefferson County Compensation Board has recommended raising the salaries of the county’s elected officials by 5.5 percent, except the sheriff’, for whom the board recommends a 10 percent raise.

The board came to this recommendation during its December meeting, and it will now go to the Jefferson County Board of Supervisors for final approval. The supervisors can accept the board’s recommendation or lower it, but they cannot increase it, per state law.

Last year, the compensation board recommended a 3.5 percent raise for elected officials, but the supervisors approved a raise of 2 percent. At the time, Supervisor Daryn Hamilton said that the supervisors felt they needed to stick closer to the national inflation rate. The county’s 89 employees got the 2 percent raise, including the supervisors, which did not get a raise the prior year.

The compensation board’s recommendations apply to the county’s elected officials: the three supervisors, sheriff, auditor, treasurer, recorder and county attorney. Compensation board chair Joneane Parker said the compensation board is not seeking to micromanage how each department spends its money. That is hashed out between the supervisors and department heads during budget season. She said the compensation board’s mission is to ensure that the county’s elected officials are receiving a “fair and equitable” salary compared to their peers.

Parker said the board looks at the salaries of officials in similarly-sized counties when making its recommendation. Specifically, the board members look at the five counties with populations just above Jefferson County and the five counties with populations just below it.

The compensation board consists of seven members: Parker, Joe Carr, Tom Louden, Phil Gevock, Gloria Countryman, Melva Dahl and Elizabeth Estey. Each person is assigned a department to represent, which means they learn the ins and outs of that elected official’s job. They compare that official’s salary to officials in other counties, as well as how their job duties compare to those of officials in other counties. They review how the cost of living has changed in recent years to determine what a fair increase would be.

Parker said every member of the board does copious research in preparation for the meeting, since the board meets only once to decide on a salary recommendation. Parker represents the supervisors, and this has given her the opportunity to observe all the things the supervisors do.

“They are busy folks,” she said. “They represent Jefferson County in state organizations to make sure we’ll well-informed and that we have a voice at those tables, whether it’s on mental health issues or infrastructure.”

Parker said the reason the board recommended giving the sheriff a higher increase than the other elected officials was because of new legislation that went into effect in 2021. The legislation, known as “Back the Blue,” states that a county sheriff must be paid a salary comparable to a police chief of a city with the same population of that county.

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com