Compensation board recommends county salary hikes

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com 

The Floyd County Compensation Board recommended pay increases for county elected officials ranging from 1.6 percent for supervisors to 2.8 percent for the county attorney.

The recommended pay increases for the 2018-19 fiscal year are:

• Three supervisors — 1.615 percent, from $37,703 to $38,312 each.
• County recorder — 2.615 percent, from $63,259 to $64,913.
• County treasurer — 2.615 percent, from 63,259 to $64,913.
• County auditor — 2.615 percent, from $63,472 to $65,132.
• County sheriff — 2.615 percent, from $84,300 to $86,503.
• County attorney — 2.815 percent, from $96,836 to $99,563.

The Compensation Board is made up of seven members appointed by the elected officials — one each by Auditor Gloria Carr, Recorder Deb Roberts, Treasurer Frank Rottinghaus, Sheriff Jeff Crooks and Attorney Rachel Ginbey, and two by Supervisors Doug Kamm, Mark Kuhn and Linda Tjaden.

The board’s job is to come up with a pay recommendation considering comparisons to employees in other Iowa counties, state employees, other states, the federal government and the private sector.

The second meeting of the Floyd County board this year was held Tuesday evening. It was the first meeting at which actual pay amount suggestions were made.

Much of the discussion Tuesday revolved around whether three of the elected officials — the county auditor, county recorder and county treasurer — should be paid the same, or should be paid different amounts according to the duties they perform.

Members of the board have for a number of years set a target for Floyd County elected officials to rank about 25th among other county officials in the state. Floyd County ranks 48th in population.

Currently the Floyd County supervisors are ranked 16th in pay among the Iowa counties. The sheriff is ranked 24th in pay, the recorder 25th, the treasurer 26th, the auditor 30th and the county attorney is ranked 35th in pay among all Iowa county attorneys.

The relative high pay rank of the supervisors and the relative low rank of the county attorney were the reasons the supervisors were recommended for a lower percentage increase and the attorney for a higher percentage.

Charlie Thomson, the board member appointed by the county attorney, made the recommendation for the raises based on a slight modification to a recommendation originally made by Kalen Schlader, one of the appointees of the supervisors.

“It is trying to keep consistent with our target of the 25th percentile,” Thomson said. “It’s among the lower recommendation put forth by the board, and it’s recognizing that we’re trying to keep the positions comparable with others in the state at where we think our peers would be.”

The vote for the recommendation was 5-2, with Scott Tjaden, appointed by the county treasurer, and Lisa Garden, appointed by the county auditor, voting no.

The members of the board voting yes were Schlader and Cheryl Erb, appointed by the supervisors; Troy Jaeger, appointed by the sheriff; Veronica Litterer, appointed by the recorder; and Thomson.

The county supervisors can accept the recommendations or can reduce them. If they reduce them they must do so by the same percent for every officer, except they can reduce their own pay by a lower percent if they wish.