2 to 4 percent wage increase recommended for county officials

Pay increases ranging from 2 to 4 percent are recommended for elected county officials by the compensation board in preparation for upcoming budget talks. The board met on Wednesday to discuss the recommendation, which is then submitted to the Jasper County Board of Supervisors for review.

For Fiscal Year 2018-2019, the board recommends a 4 percent pay increase for the Jasper County Attorney, a 3.5 percent increase for the auditor, recorder, sheriff and treasurer and a 2 percent increase for the supervisors. Last year’s pay increase for every elected official except the supervisors was 2.75 percent.

The supervisors, for the first time in eight years, took a wage increase of 1.99 percent. Jasper County Auditor Dennis Parrott said the pay increase would keep the supervisors’ wages competitive within the state when figuring the total population of the county.

“Our role is to give the supervisors parameters for the range they can consider when making the annual adjustments,” compensation board member Adam Otto said. “When making our recommendations, we considered state wide figures for the elected officials in other counties and how they compared for ours. We also considered the annual increase that has been contracted for union employees.”

The current salary for the county elected officials is supervisors at $42,020 each, attorney at $115,556, auditor at $72,505, recorder at $72,505, sheriff at $106,965 and treasurer at $72,505. Average wage increases in FY 2017-2018 for county elected officials across the state of Iowa ranged from 2.29 percent for supervisors to 3.5 percent for county sheriffs.

Jasper County union employees are scheduled to receive at 2.9 percent increase under the current union contract. Non-elected officials salaries in the county include the engineer at $113,559, assessor at $88,530, human resource director at $85,634, conservation director at $79,994, community services coordinator at $78,744, public health director at $76,035, maintenance director at $72,438, IT director at $72,438, emergency management director at $70,686, planning and zoning director at $56,560, congregate meals director at $55,032 and veterans affairs director at $46,794.

“The board of supervisors will take a look at the budget to see how it stands when considering the increases,” Parrott said.

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com