Should elected county officials receive 3.8% annual cost of living increase?
Salary committee defers decision
by Duane Williams, KLCB 1230 AM Libby News Radio
July 24, 2009
A meeting tasked with making the decision of whether or not elected county officials receive a 3.8% annual cost of living increase turned into a comment on the state of the county’s economy.
Prior to 2001, the state legislature set salaries for elected county officials. In that year the legislature turned the job back to individual counties. Counties formed salary committees composed mostly of the elected officials that would determine elected officials salaries year by year, budget by budget.
Lincoln County employs more than 100 people in the Troy, Libby, and Eureka areas. Only about 40 of those employees are paid by levied funds. The remainder are paid from investment interest money from the road fund. Money to the road fund currently comes from the Secure Rural Schools Act.
Committee member Steve Newman, publisher of the Tobacco Valley News, brought the word from the north end of the county…"freeze salaries." Newman wanted to know how much the taxpayers can be expected to shoulder.
Newman and Bonnie Larson said there are no raises in private sector employment.
Troy’s highest paid employees are the Forest Service and the Genesis/Revett Mine…and private employers in Troy can’t compete with high wages paid by those employers, according to Darren Coldwell of Troy, who has recently given his employees a raise.
Bonnie Larson, owner of Larson Lumber in Troy, repeated termed elected officials current pay, which is in the mid to high 5 figures as "modest salaries". The highest is $90,000, which is the County Attorney. Communities see county jobs as well-paid jobs.
Lincoln County’s median household income is $26,700 dollars. The unemployment rate is above 12%; more than 19% of the county population is below the poverty line.
The salary committee made no decision and will meet again on August 5th at 3pm.
______________________________
Story by Duane Williams, KLCB 1230 AM Libby News Radio, www.todaysbestcountryonline.com.
|
