June 16, 2022
By: Dwayne Page
Several county officials have come up with a proposal to pay their employees more and they presented that plan to the budget committee for consideration Wednesday night. No action has yet been taken.
During the meeting, Circuit Court Clerk Susan Martin, speaking on behalf of herself and other county officials present, asked that employees of their offices be given the same percentage pay increase by the county going forward as the percentage given to them (office holders) by the state when their pay is increased which this year is 5.2% and that the employees step wage scale be changed to reflect it.
A similar proposal was adopted six years ago by the county commission but was changed two years later after several county officials complained that the plan was unfair in that the county mayor’s staff was being paid more than their clerks.
Other county officials at the meeting with Circuit Court Clerk Martin Wednesday night were Trustee Sean Driver, County Clerk James L (Jimmy) Poss, Assessor of Property Shannon Cantrell, and Clerk and Master Debra Malone.
Last week Martin, on behalf of herself and fellow county officials, asked the budget committee to recommend to the county commission that their employees be given bonuses from American Rescue Plan grant funds. In addition to Circuit Court Clerk Martin, other county officials at that meeting in support were Trustee Driver, County Clerk Poss, Clerk and Master Malone, and Administer of Elections Dennis Stanley. The request was granted. However, before that move, Fourth District Commissioner Dr. Scott Little asked why the county officials were requesting bonuses rather than pay raises suggesting that raises would make more sense than a one-time bonus. Apparently taking their cue from Dr. Little, Martin, Driver, Poss, Malone and Cantrell followed up with this latest request.
Under their plan, employees of the offices of County Mayor, Trustee, Register of Deeds, County Clerk, Assessor of Property, Circuit Court Clerk, Clerk and Master, and Administer of Elections would receive step raises at a percentage of $82,396 per year, which is what all these public officials will earn next year except for the county mayor who is paid more. The starting pay in year one for new employees would be at $32,134 and top out after 30 years at $46,142. In addition to the scheduled step increases, salaries of all employees of these offices would automatically increase at the same percentage as their employer (office holder) when he or she gets a raise by the state.
County Mayor Tim Stribling, unaware that these officials were coming to present this plan Wednesday night, said the proposal would have to be studied before being adopted to determine the impact on next year’s budget.
The proposal will most likely be considered at the next budget committee meeting set for Wednesday, June 22 at 5:00 p.m. in the downstairs courtroom of the courthouse.
Last year the county increased the base pay of county employees who fall under two separate wage scales already in place. Both are 13-tiered plans including an administrative employee pay scale which tops out at 20 years and applies mainly to employees who work for elected and appointed county officials at the courthouse and county complex. The other plan tops out at 13 years and is for full-time library staff and senior center directors.
Under the 20-year plan, the pay increases last year were to have ranged from $3,744 to $4,896 annually depending on years of service, while raises for those in the 13-year plan were to have jumped by $2,976 to $4,128. The total amount of the proposed pay hikes, including benefits, were to have added $129,703 in new spending to the county budget for the 2021-22 fiscal year.
The sheriff’s department currently operates under its own pay scale system previously established by the county and would not be affected by the proposal presented to the budget committee Wednesday night. Sheriff’s department staff get pay raises under a six-tier scale and are paid at a percentage of the sheriff’s salary. In addition to the scale, sheriff’s department employees also get the same percentage increase in pay by the county as the pay hike percentage given to the sheriff by the state when he gets a raise.