10/12/11 After some discussion Monday morning members of the County Council approved the 2012 Salary Ordinance including a 2% raise for all county employees, department heads and elected officials EXCEPT the County Council who decided not to take a raise again this year.
A discussion on the 2012 salary for the building inspector raised the question of giving raises to employees who have not been with the county for at least a year. The building inspector was hired early this year as a part time position. In August the commissioners determined that there was a need to take the position back to full time. At that point they approved a salary of $38,000 which was several thousand dollars lower than the 2010 salary.
Council member Judy Stone asked if the salary approved for the building inspector in the 2012 budget included the 2% increase. County Auditor Penny Lukenbill said it did. She also asked if the Veterans Service Officer’s salary of $30,000 for full-time received the increase. Lukenbill explained that the full-time position does not start until January 1, 2012 so the salary set at $30,000 will stand for next year.
Council member Ward Byers suggested not giving anyone who hasn’t been with the County at least a year a raise. It was estimated that seven employees would fall into that time frame. Byers said,” I want to take care of the folks who weather the storm of not having a pay raise in 2 to 3 year.”
Lukenbill explained that a change like that would require a major change in the 2012 Salary Ordinance. She said each position would need to be spelled out and detailed.
After further discussion Byers said he would discuss his idea in the future prior to next year’s budget hearings.
It was also commented that pay raised should be based on evaluations by department heads rather than across the board as they are now.
