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Pay raises approved

County elected officials to see pay increases beginning July 1

Marshall County elective offices are set for various pay raises beginning July 1.

“We want good people in these positions … we want people to be well-paid,” said Marshall County Compensation Board Chairman Tom McCoy at Tuesday’s Marshall County Board of Supervisors meeting. “We recommend, as a comp board, that you take the raise that we recommended in total.”

The supervisors adopted a resolution accepting the compensation board’s recommended salary increases, except for one: they lowered their recommended raise from 4.2 percent to 1.75 percent.

“I would say that we go with the recommendation of the (compensation) board, and we go to 1.75 [percent increase] for the supervisors; that’s the only change,” said Supervisor Steve Salasek in a motion.

That motion was seconded by Board Vice Chairman Dave Thompson and passed 3-0, with Board Chairman Bill Patten also voting in favor.

Considerable discussion took place before that final motion was made. The compensation board’s original salary increase recommendations for county elected officials were as follows:

• Marshall County Auditor and Recorder Nan Benson’s salary would increase 14 percent, from $61,174.49 to $69,738.92;

• Marshall County Attorney Jennifer Miller’s salary would increase 10 percent, from $93,256.18 to $102,581.80;

• Marshall County Sheriff Steve Hoffman’s salary would increase 5 percent, from $81,412.47 to $85,483.09;

• The salary of each supervisor would increase 4.2 percent, from $35,915.68 to $37,242.14;

• Marshall County Treasurer Jarret Heil’s salary would increase 4.2 percent, from $57,617.67 to $60,037.61.

With the supervisors’ amendment to the resolution, their salary beginning next fiscal year will be $36,544.20 instead of $37,242.14. All of the other increases were adopted as recommended.

McCoy said some of the positions, such as county attorney, currently see lower salaries than the state average. He also said the auditor-recorder’s 14 percent recommended increase was meant to reflect that position’s workload; Marshall County is one of two Iowa counties with a combined auditor-recorder’s office.

“There comes a time where we’ve got to play catch-up,” Salasek said. “In order to keep good people, you’ve got to make sure they’re taken care of.”

The final motion was amended from an earlier motion by Salasek, which included a 0 percent increase to the supervisors. However, Thompson said passing a 0 percent increase would cause the position’s salary to “continue to slide back.”

“I know it’s very difficult for the supervisors to vote for their own pay increase; however, think of it without yourself sitting in these chairs, but somebody else,” Thompson said. “If we continue to let this slide, you’re not going to attract the quality of individuals that you want sitting at this table in the future.”

He added that he has been impressed with the county’s elected officials, and said departments’ responsibilities have increased in recent years.

“I know we’re not supposed to look at this as a performance review but, by golly, I do,” Thompson said. “I think the performance of many of these individuals has been exemplary.”

Patten agreed, but both he and Thompson said it’s the county voters who ultimately decide whether or not they approve of elected officials’ job performance.

In other business:

• The board also approved weight limit postings to go up at several county bridges; one-lane bridge postings were approved in a separate resolution.

• The board rescheduled its Tuesday, Dec. 25 meeting to Wednesday, Dec. 26 to avoid holding the meeting on Christmas Day this year.

• The next Marshall County Board of Supervisors meeting is set for 9 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 6 in meeting room No. 2 on the third floor of the Marshall County Courthouse, 1 E. Main St.

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Contact Adam Sodders at (641) 753-6611 or asodders@timesrepublican.com

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