The Greene County compensation board is recommending a 3 percent raise for county elected officials for the next fiscal year. The board met Thursday and made its decision after hearing from the elected officials. The meeting took less than 15 minutes.
County attorney Nicola Martino spoke first. He did not ask for a specific amount but noted that his case load has increased significantly in the past year. He also reminded the board that he will have an assistant beginning in May.
When it was sheriff Jack Williams’ turn to speak he also did not ask for a specific amount but said that if Martino’s work load has increased, so has his.
Auditor Jane Heun, treasurer Donna Lawson and recorder Marcia Tasler all asked for 4 percent salary increases, with all of them noting increased workloads. Last year the elected officials asked for a 4 percent increase and got 2.5 percent.
Supervisor John Muir attended the meeting but declined to speak on behalf of the board.
A new two-year contract with the county secondary roads employees has been ratified by the union members but not yet by the supervisors. That contract calls for 2.5 percent wage increases both years of the contract.
Compensation board member Jim Unger suggested a 3 percent increase for the elected officials, saying that if the ag economy continues to decline as predicted, the county may not be in a position next year to increase salaries. “I think we should strike now while we have the ability to potentially insulate our employees from this upcoming debacle,” he said. “Right now we have the money to do it, and we will be facing future years when we don’t have money to give anybody anything.”
He added that the secondary roads employees are guaranteed a raise next year, while there is no guarantee for the elected officials. He also noted that a 3 percent increase would not throw payrolls “out of whack” compared to surrounding counties.
The compensation board voted unanimously to recommend 3 percent salary increases. Members of the board, in addition to Fields and Unger, are Bob Schwarzkopf, Tom Heater, Denise O’Brien Van, Steve Haupert and Aaron Schroeder. Schroeder was absent from the meeting.
The recommendation will be forwarded to the county board of supervisors for consideration at a future meeting. The supervisors cannot approve raises higher than the compensation board recommends. If they decide upon a figure lower than the compensation board’s recommendation, the percent change must be the same for all elected officials. The supervisors can separate their own wage increase and make it a different amount as long as it does not go above what the other officials receive.
According to deputy auditor Billie Jo Hoskins, secretary for the compensation board, a 3 percent increase would equate to the following salary increases: supervisors (at each), from $26,993 to $27,803; treasurer, from $54,423 to $56,056; auditor, from $54,919 to $56,566; recorder, from $53,909 to $55,527; sheriff, from $70,957 to $73,084; and attorney, from $87,767 to $90,400.
