The Tooele County Commission approved pay hikes of 18.4 percent for the commission chairman and 19.4 percent for the other two commissioners on Tuesday night.
The increases, approved with the 2017 county budget, will take effect in January 2017. They were included in a resolution that set salaries for elected county officers and their chief deputies. The resolution included a 1.1-percent cost of living adjustment for the other county officers.
During Tuesday night’s meeting, Commission Chairman Wade Bitner explained that a past county budget included an increase to equalize the commissioners’ salaries, but the commissioners decided not to take the increase and the money remained in the budget.
The resolution for 2017 salaries only included a 1.1-percent increase for the commissioners over the previously approved, but rejected increase, according to Bitner.
However, according to county resolution 2015-07 passed and signed by the commissioners on Dec. 15, 2015, the annual 2016 salary for the commission chairman was set at $73,766 and the annual salary of the other two commissioners for 2016 was set at $73,139.
The resolution passed by the county commission Tuesday set the annual salary for all three county commissioners for 2017 at $87,347 each.
That’s an 18.4-percent increase that totals $13,581 for Bitner, and a 19.4-percent increase for Bateman and Milne that totals $14,208 each.
Tooele County Commissioner Shawn Milne voted against the increase for commissioners.
“It’s just not a good time,” he said. “I don’t think it’s right to propose an increase in commissioner’s salary at the same time you are making the case for a 9-percent increase in property tax.”
Commissioners Bateman and Bitner voted for the salary increase.
“We equalized the salary of all elected officials,” Bitner said.
The county assessor, clerk/auditor, recorder/surveyor, and treasurer all are slated for the same annual 2017 salary of $87,347.
The Justice Court judge will receive an annual salary of $115,670. The county attorney’s 2017 annual salary will be $114,450. The sheriff’s 2017 annual salary was set at $90,357.
In July 2015 the county commissioners considered a mid-year salary adjustment along with adjustments for other county employees.
The initial July 2015 proposal was to raise the annual salary of the county commissioners to $85,755 for all three commissioners.
The 2015 salary for commissioners was set by resolution in December 2014 at $70,559 for the chairman and $69,959 for the other two commissioners.
The county commissioners approved resolution 2015-02 on July 7, 2015 setting the annual salary of county commissioners at $78,791 for the chairman and $78,491 for the other commissioners.
Milne opposed the increase. Bateman and Bitner voted for it.
However, following public criticism, the county commissioners announced they would roll back their increase to the same 3-percent COLA that other county employees received.
The Transcript Bulletin reported that during a July 21, 2015, county commission meeting, Thomas Karjola, of Stockton, pressed the commissioners on the timing of any future salary adjustments.
“I am asking you guys, will you promise us right now, publicly, that any of the pay raises beyond a COLA will not take effect until after your term is over?” asked Karjola.
In response, all three commissioners committed not to accept a pay increase for themselves, other than a COLA during their current term of office.
However, after Karjola’s comments, Bitner said he still wanted to explore a salary adjustment for future commissioners.
“The information we have is that there has been no adjustment in the commissioners’ salary since 2001,” he said. “In 2010 the commission was formally changed to full-time status, but there was no adjustment in the salary. We want to be able to offer to new commissioners coming in a salary that is equal to the other elected officials.”
At a Aug. 4, 2015, county commission meeting, the commissioners passed a resolution that set their salaries at $72,676 for the commission chairman and $72,058 for the other two commissioners.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Erda resident Jeff McNeill recalled the July 21, 2015, meeting during Tuesday night’s public hearing on the resolution to set salaries.
“I was in the meeting when at least two of you said that you would not take a pay increase during your term in office, that you would wait until you were no longer in office and then increase salaries,” McNeill said. “… I just wanted to point that out.”