Lee County’s elected leaders could see their salaries increase on July 1.
The annual meeting of the Lee County Compensation Board resulted in a recommendation for a 5% across-the-board pay hike for the county’s ten elected leaders.
The raises would be for County Attorney Mike Short, County Auditor Denise Fraise, County Recorder Nancy Booten, County Sheriff Jim Sholl, County Treasurer Janet Strunk and County Supervisors Ron Fedler, Rick Larkin, Ernie Schiller, Gary Folluo, and Matt Pflug.
The raises would also extend to departmental deputies as their salaries are based on a percentage of the salary of their elected leader.
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The final say in the raises, though, lies with the Board of Supervisors.
The panel could accept them or reduce them.
Chairman Rick Larkin says circumstances could make raises possible in next year’s budget.
“Our county budget has sort of loosened up a little bit because of the money we received from the combination of the offices, so that we may be looking at giving at least some of them a substantial raise.
The supervisors do have the ability to reduce or eliminate their own raises while maintaining the raises for the other five elected leaders.
A final decision is expected in the next few weeks as the county’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year must be completed by mid-March.
There was an objection to the proposed raises during this week’s board meeting.
A man who refused to identify himself to the supervisors, while they were discussing the raises, that taxpayers should not have to pay for raises when they, themselves, are not getting raises.
The Lee County Compensation Board consists of one representative of the Attorney, Auditor, Recorder, Sheriff and Treasurer and two representatives for the Board of Supervisors.
The panel recommended 3.5% raises in the current fiscal year and 2.5% raises in the previous fiscal year.
The supervisors ended up taking wages freezes each year and granting 2.5% raises to the five other elected leaders in the current budget and 1.5% raises in the previous fiscal year.