Pay hikes OK’d for county employees
by Brent Shrum, Kootenai Valley Record
August 20, 2009
The Lincoln County commissioners last week approved pay raises in varying amounts for elected officials and county employees.
Following the recommendation of an advisory committee made up of seven elected officials and five citizen representatives, the commissioners enacted a 1 cent per hour raise for elected officials along with a 1 percent longevity increase. The token 1 cent raise was proposed by the committee to allow longevity increases for sheriff’s deputies to kick in; under state law, deputies don’t receive longevity increases if the sheriff’s salary is frozen.
The commissioners approved a 2 percent partial cost of living adjustment for non-unionized county employees. Under the terms of a three-year contract signed in 2008, unionized employees of the sheriff’s office will receive a full 3.8 percent COLA. Sworn deputies in the sheriff’s office will receive an additional 2.5 percent pay raise plus a 1 percent longevity increase. Non-sworn employees – including dispatchers, secretaries and detention officers – don’t get the 2.5 percent raise, and their longevity increase is 5 cents per hour instead of 1 percent.
Another union contract, which covers several landfill employees, remains to be negotiated.
On Aug. 5, the committee charged with advising the commissioners on pay for elected officials was unanimous in its recommendation for the 1 cent per hour raise but split 6-5 on the 1 percent longevity increase. According to the prevailing interpretation of county policy, the longevity increase for elected officials is automatic unless a vote is taken to withhold it.
At last Wednesday’s meeting, Commissioner Tony Berget – who had voted the previous week against the longevity increase – moved to enact the 1 cent per hour raise.
"By just voting for the 1 cent per hour, the longevity is still in place, is it not?" Berget asked.
"Normally, in the past, I don’t think it’s hardly ever been mentioned," said Commissioner John Konzen.
The commissioners voted 3-0 to approve the 1 cent raise, but Berget said he was still opposed to the longevity increase.
"I know how that went, but it does seem that we for one year should put that off," he said.
Berget moved to suspend the longevity increase for this year, but the motion died for lack of a second from either Konzen or Commissioner Marianne Roose, both of whom had voted in favor of the increase during the previous week’s committee meeting.
Berget also made the motion to grant non-unionized county employees the 2 percent partial COLA, and the motion passed unanimously.
"I think they’re thankful to have a job, like everybody is, but anything we can do for them, I’m for it," Konzen said.
County officials are looking into the issue of whether the raise granted to sheriff’s deputies will come into conflict with a state law setting their salaries as a percentage of the sheriff’s salary, said Bill Bischoff, executive assistant to the commissioners. For a county the size of Lincoln County, pay for deputies is to range from 76 to 90 percent of what the sheriff receives.
"It’s something we’re working on with the union and our attorney to clarify that, to make sure we’re not doing anything illegal," Bischoff said.
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Editor’s Note: See the August 18, 2009 edition of the Kootenai Valley Record for the printed version of this story. The Kootenai Valley Record publishes once a week, on Tuesdays, 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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