Washington County officials to get 2 percent pay raise

The Washington County Board of Supervisors, Tuesday, approved a 2 percent pay increase for the county's elected officials.

The pay hike is below the 3 percent recommended by the county's Compensation Board.

'I know we gave the (county) employees 2 percent,” Supervisor Abe Miller said. 'I'd be good with that for elected officials.”

Supervisors Bob Yoder and Richard Young echoed their support for the 2 percent increase.

It was noted that compensation boards in other counties recommended higher increases for their elected officials, including a 10 percent recommendation in Appanoose County.

'The Appanoose County Compensation Board possibly felt like some salaries were not what they wanted them to be,” board Chairman Jack Seward Jr. said. 'They gave a large recommendation so the supervisors could roll it back.”

Seward added that the highest pay increases for elected officials accepted and approved that he was aware of have been 4 percent.

He acknowledged that the state's IPERS retirement system is based on the highest three salaries that an employee or elected official made.

'Not only are wages being paid out of taxpayers' pockets, but the pensions are also paid out of the taxpayers' pockets,” Seward said. 'We don't take this decision lightly.”

The vote for the 2 percent increase was a unanimous 4-0, with Supervisor Stan Stoops not in attendance at Tuesday's meeting.

The board also voted to keep the chairman's annual stipend at $1,500.

'It's been the same for many years,” Yoder said.