Pay hike OK’d for county officials
by Brent Shrum, Kootenai Valley Record
July 5, 2008
As Lincoln County officials look for ways to cut their budgets to make up for the anticipated loss of $3 million in federal funding, the county’s elected officials salary committee has approved a 5.3 percent raise that is expected to cost more than $270,000.
The committee is required by state law and includes the three commissioners, the county attorney, the sheriff, the treasurer, the clerk and recorder and two citizens appointed by the commissioners. During a meeting last Wednesday, the group approved a 2.8 percent cost of living adjustment plus 2.5 percent for all elected officials, and the commissioners indicated they will follow their established policy and give the raise to all county employees as well.
"Since we have been here, we have always said that what happens for the elected officials is what happens for the employees," said Commissioner Marianne Roose.
The raise was prompted by an agreement last winter with the unionized deputies of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, who had threatened to strike before reaching a deal for a contract that provides a 2.8 percent COLA plus 2.5 percent each year for three years.
Because deputies’ salaries are set by state law at a percentage of the sheriff’s salary, and because the sheriff’s salary is tied by law to all other elected officials’ salaries, the agreement obligated the county to provide the raise across the board for elected officials.
As the budget year comes to a close, the commissioners are grappling with options for how to make up for the loss of funding under the federal Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act, which provides payments for roads and schools in counties containing national forest lands.
The law was enacted in 2000 to make up for a decline in funding under a 1908 law that set aside 25 percent of national forest income for county roads and schools. As the timber harvest dropped sharply in 1990s, so did revenues provided to counties. The new law set annual payments at an average of the three highest years of the previous decade.
For Lincoln County, the formula provides more than $5.8 million per year, with 15 percent taken off the top for special forest-related projects and the remainder divided under a state formula allocating two-thirds to roads and one-third to schools. The county road fund receives about $3.3 million, and about $500,000 goes directly to schools for transportation and retirement funds. The rest of the schools’ share goes to a state equalization fund.
The law expired in 2006 but was reauthorized for one year. So far this year, several unsuccessful efforts have been made to renew the law. Some legislators are continuing to attempt to attach reauthorization of the act to another spending bill, but the president has indicated he will veto any such bills.
If the law is not reauthorized, payments to Lincoln County would revert to the 25 percent formula. With the current timber harvest, county officials expect they would receive less than $1 million, where about $4 million is needed for the road budget.
For many years, payments to the county under the 25 percent formula exceeded the road budget, leading to current reserves of $21 million. That money can’t be used for anything but roads, so it is invested with the interest – more than $1 million per year – used to support the general fund. If federal funding is lost and the reserves are used for the road budget, the fund would be depleted in a few years along with the interest income.
Reversion to the 25 percent formula wouldn’t be a problem if more logging was allowed to take place on the Kootenai National Forest, said Commissioner John Konzen.
"The answer is to get active, responsible production going on in your national forests," he said. "But that isn’t going to happen overnight."
Along with increased salaries, the county is also facing a 19 percent increase in health insurance costs totaling around $168,000. Commissioner Rita Windom noted that the county may have to cut employees if it is to maintain benefits and salaries for others. There will be "revisions," she said, but it’s too soon to say just what those will be.
"We’re not saying we’re laying off any people yet until we look at the budget," she said.
Other options being reviewed by the commissioners include cutting maintenance of some roads, increased fees, and reduced hours that the courthouse is open to the public.
"To me, reduced hours at the courthouse is a good start because it makes the public aware that there is a problem," Windom said.
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Editor’s Note: See the June 30, 2008 edition of the Kootenai Valley Record for the printed version of this story. The Kootenai Valley Record publishes once a week, on Monday, in Libby, Montana. They are a locally owned community newspaper, located at 403 Mineral Avenue in Libby. For in-county and out-of-county subscription information, call 406-293-2424, or e-mail kvrecord@gmail.com.
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