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Local News

Barry County elected officials may see a two percent raise next year

The Barry County Board of Commissioners Tuesday recommended a two percent salary increase for Barry County elected officials beginning Jan. 1, 2018, to be acted on at the Sept. 12 commission meeting.

Commissioner Dan Parker proposed the raises. A recent Elected Official Compensation Commission (EOCC) will meet and recommend salaries for those elected by the people, but raises would not be effective until 2019, he said.

 

That leaves elected officials without a raise for at least two years, he said. He proposed a two percent raise across the board for all elected officials, including county commissioners.

 

That mirrors the raises for other county employees that followed a comprehensive classification and compensation study resulting in two percent raises to Barry County Courthouse employees, non-represented employees and department heads, effective in May.

 

A motion by Commissioner David Jackson to remove the commissioners from the list of proposed raised failed, with commissioner’s noting how small the raise is, the difficulty of catching up later if a step up is denied now and the unfairness of excluding them.

 

Voting to remove them were commissioners Geiger, Jackson and Jon Smelker. Commissioners Howard Gibson, Heather Wing, Dan Parker and Vivian Conner voted to keep them on the list.

 

On the main motion to recommend the raise,  commissioners Parker, Jackson, Smelker, Wing and Gibson voted yes, Conner and Geiger voted no.

 

Conner vote against the proposal was because she said she won’t vote for anything she is not sure is legal. She read the criteria for forming a compensation commission, which said that the commission “shall” set compensation for elected officials. “Can we can even really do this?” she asked.

A county attorney will be asked to determine if the proposal is legal before next week’s board meeting.

 

Elected Barry County officials and their proposed salaries:

Sheriff: $76,867.27

Register of Deeds: $60,414.52

County Clerk: $65,317.79

Treasurer: $61,390.73

Surveyor: $8,763.76

Drain Commissioner: $60,414,52

Prosecutor: $99,291.14

County Commissioner: $9,786.90

County Commission Chair $10,817.10.

The salaries would increase salaries on Jan, 1, 2018.

The raises would cost $12, 736.11.

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