Supervisors debate wage increases

    Washington County Treasurer Jeff Garrett presented his budget to the Washington County Board of Supervisors on Friday and asked for a 35-cent per hour raise for his two clerks. Garrett also employs three deputies, two of whom earn 80 percent of his salary and one who makes 75 percent. Garrett did not ask the board for raises for any of the deputies.

    Garrett remarked that he wants to keep his clerks? hourly wage near what the prevailing wage is for clerks in other departments.

    ?We?re trying to keep their wage in line with other clerical people,? said Garrett. ?It breeds discontent if not everyone is earning the same amount of money.?

    The 35-cent pay raise for the two clerks is just over a 2 percent increase, said Garrett. He added that because he is not giving pay raises to the three deputies, he will be able to keep his budget from rising more than 1 percent. The board had asked all of the county departments to request no more than a 1 percent increase in their budget for the 2010-2011 fiscal year.

    Supervisor Adam Mangold said, ?I?m comfortable with Jeff?s thinking on this matter.?

    Supervisor Jim Rosien said that he was also in agreement and commented that giving each employee a 1 percent pay raise might seem ?chintzy.?

For the full article, see our Feb. 1 print edition.