Supervisors table discussion on salary increases for elected officials

WASHINGTON - The Washington County Board of Supervisors discussed 2020 salaries for elected officials and nonelected employees when it met in regular session Tuesday, Dec. 10, at the Washington County Courthouse.

The Compensation Board recommended a 3 percent raise for elected officials for next year. The supervisors must decide whether to accept or modify that recommendation and to decide what to do about salaries for all nonelected employees.

Supervisor Abe Miller said the federal Social Security cost of living increase for next year is 1.6 percent. He said last year, the county granted employees a 2.8 percent wage increase. Supervisor Stan Stoops said he was opposed to the 3 percent increase figure. Supervisor Richard Young said the Sheriff's department's increase of 3 percent was included in a union contract and the Compensation Board decided to use that figure for all elected officials. A member of the Compensation Board attending the meeting told the Supervisors that three of the seven members on the board favored a 2 percent increase.

The recommendation from the Compensation Board also included a $1,000 adjustment to the base salary of the County Treasurer, Recorder, Attorney and Sheriff based on a survey that showed that Washington County was lagging the rest of the state in compensating these officials based on a seven-year average of salaries.

The board tabled the issue until its next meeting.

Ambulance Service

When discussing the progress being made by the Washington County Ambulance Advisory Committee, the board made it clear to the committee that it wanted Young involved in every step of the process to seek a National Provider Identifier (NPI) number required by federal law and certification with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to enable the new service to bill Medicare and Medicaid patients.

The committee had sought guidance and advice from another county which prompted confidentiality concerns from Young. The supervisors, citing Young's decades of experience operating the current ambulance service, voted to have Young and Washington County Public Health Administrator Danielle Pettit-Majewski consult with the Washington County Attorney's office regarding how to move forward with CMS certification and obtaining an NPI number for the new service.