Council OK's 2 percent raise

The Jay County Council authorized a 2 percent cost-of-living increase for county employees in 2011 and froze its own salaries Wednesday night.
The discussion of whether the county’s cash reserves in the general fund could warrant a pay raise was resolved as council members voted 5-0 to approve the increase. Councilwoman Marilyn Coleman was absent and board president Gerald Kirby did not vote.
Council members then also voted 5-0 to freeze their own salaries in 2011.
After finishing the second half of departmental budget reviews, Kirby opened discussion on the salary issue. Councilman Mike Leonhard jumped first at the opportunity, making a motion for a 2 percent increase.
“I think the employees and office holders have bent over backwards to cut their budgets,” in hopes of getting some sort of increase, he said. “Two percent is a lot better than what they got last year.”
“Two percent better,” agreed councilman Fred Bailey.
Leonhard also said he was unconvinced by the numbers that the county’s financial consultant, Greg Guerrettaz, presented about the downward slope of the county’s finances.
He said he was more convinced by county engineer Dan Watson, who told the council on Tuesday that although Guerrettaz projected he would only have $50,000 remaining in one fund, Watson actually expected to have about $700,000.
Leonhard also said that he thinks with the quality of work that the county employees do, that they are entitled to a pay increase.
Councilman Dan Orr, who sat on the budget review committee that worked with department heads to keep their budgets lean this year, said the question of not granting increases was never due to issues with the quality of the employees.
“It was due primarily to us not knowing,” the state of the county’s reserves, Orr said.
Kirby said he disagreed with Leonhard’s assertion that the county’s finances are in good shape.
“I think the predictions that you are using are too generous,” he said. “I think we’re in deeper.”
Jay County Auditor Nancy Culy chimed in and sided with Leonhard, saying that, with all the budgets figured and before her, that the county is in a stable place to grant the increases. She said she wasn’t sure the source of some of Guerrettaz’s projections.
“I think it’s too rosy of a picture,” Kirby said.
“I’m not (being) rosy,” Culy snapped back.
Council members also discussed how insurance costs are likely going to increase and that some, or all, of that cost will burden the employee.
“There’s no way that insurance isn’t going to go up more than the 2 percent is going to cover,” Kirby said.
Before the council voted on the salary increase, councilman Gary Theurer suggested that council members freeze their pay and not take the 2 percent increase in 2011. Theuerer said he felt it would be a sign of good faith to the employees and the department heads who worked hard to keep their budgets tight.
“All seven of us have other (sources) where we make money,” he said.
Without further discussion, the council approved the 2 percent pay raise for all employees and the salary freeze for the council.
In other business during the budget hearings Wednesday, the council heard another complaint about the county’s pay plan, this time from Jay County Clerk Ellen Coats. Sheriff Ray Newton had vocalized a complaint about the county pay plan during a meeting last week.
Coats said that the employees in her office perform the same types of jobs and that she felt that the pay disparity between employees — around $8,000 between the highest and lowest paid employees — was too great.
“I just feel like everyone should be paid the same,” she said.
Coats also mentioned that two of her employees have picked up additional work when one worker left the office and was not replaced and that they too should be receiving larger compensation.
“I just feel like they need more,” she said.
Kirby acknowledged that the county pay plan has the potential to create some large differences in pay and said that the topic is one the council may tackle in the future.
“Your complaint about inequities is noted,” he said.
The council finished reviews of the remaining departmental budgets and is expected to make no additional cuts to the submitted budgets before the first reading on Aug. 25.[[In-content Ad]]