Officials balancing large increases, pay compression issues
KCJJ Staff
02/19/19
Johnson County’s elected officials are set to receive a raise.
The compensation board last week voted to increase the salary of the ten officials elected by the public by 3.56 percent. Four of those – the county attorney, auditor, recorder, and treasurer – will receive an extra $2500, while the county sheriff is being given an extra $5000. The five members of the Board of Supervisors will receive an extra $1,875 on top of the salary increase.
For the five county supervisors, that means they’ll be paid roughly $83,000 per year in fiscal 2020, which begins July 1, 2019.
The 3.56 percent pay increase is lower than an initial recommendation approved last month by the compensation board, a group of 13 officials from various county departments. It had suggested a 3.68 percent increase but chose to reduce that, with compensation board members saying this will bring the departments heads’ pay in-line with counties of comparable size across the state while dealing with issues of salary compression in those departments.
The extra pay to the sheriff is also different from the original recommendation, lowered from $10,000 after the Board of Supervisors expressed some sticker shock.
The increase is the fifth step in a five-year plan which had set a recommendation of an annual 3.68 percent increase in elected officials’ salaries.
The Board of Supervisors still must approve the increase, with discussion scheduled for Wednesday’s work session and a vote likely by the end of the month.
