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Tight budget includes big raises County officials get 6% to 8.5% pay hikes amid spending cuts By DANI DODGE -- Before the Jackson County Budget Committee decided how to cut $1.7 million from its budget Friday, it voted to boost pay for the county's nine elected officials by 6 percent or more. As of July 1, county commissioners will make $58,053 a year. Commissioner Sue Kupillas said the raises put the county in the "middle of the salary range" for Oregon counties. "And I won't make any apology for it," she said. The raises came on a unanimous vote as the budget committee -- made up of three community members and the three commissioners -- wrapped up work on the county's $171 million budget for 2000-2001. The committee cut funding to the Jackson County Museums Association by 14.5 percent, declined to pay for a cougar trapper, and gave the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce $5,000 of the $40,000 it requested. The committee also increased fees by 16.4 percent, cut overtime in the sheriff's department, and shifted the Talent Work Release Center from the sheriff's control to the community corrections department, where employees are paid less than deputies. Corrections will run the center as a restitution center, where inmates will pay their own way through fees and labor. While all the other budget matters were discussed in previous public sessions, proposed raises for public officials were not. The raises weren't included in the budget document available at local libraries. And the issue was not broached when 175 people crowded into the County Courthouse Auditorium for Thursday's hearing on the historical society and other budgets. The raises first surfaced publicly at the beginning of Friday's deliberations, with only about a half-dozen people in the audience. No one from the public spoke; the public hearing had closed Thursday. Committee members said competitive salaries are needed to keep good people at the county. Salary increases ranged from 6 percent to the sheriff's 8.5 percent. "I feel these are in line with comparable jobs in industry," said Tim Alford, a lay member of the budget committee. "Our intent is to retain and reward our excellent employees." The elected officials' raises will cost the county $35,796 in additional pay and benefits. County administrator Sue Slack said the money would come from revenues over and above what is budgeted. The county budgets conservatively for property tax revenues, she said. Whatever comes in over that amount will be used to pay the increased salaries. If that money doesn't materialize, the county will have to further tighten its belt the following year, she said. The three community members of the budget committee met as a county "elected officials salary committee" at lunch Monday and decided on the raises. They looked at salaries paid in comparable-sized counties: Benton, Clackamas, Deschutes, Douglas, Lane, Linn, Marion and Washington. The average commissioner salary in those counties is $58,685. The lowest, $50,710 is in Lane County; and the highest, $64,089, in Clackamas County. The average annual salary of a Jackson County resident in 1999 was $25,636, according to the Oregon Employment Department. Both Lane and Clackamas counties have higher average wages than Jackson County. Commissioner Jack Walker said raises for elected officials have been handled the same way for several years. In the past, appointed positions were outstripping the pay of elected officials because elected officials were reluctant to raise salaries, he said. Having citizen members recommend raises works best, Walker said, although he admitted it's awkward to vote on your own raise. "When you start making cuts and you have your budget committee saying `You did a good job, and we think (you) should get an increase' it's hard for the public to see how it's not that unfair," he said. "It's a tough decision." This year's raise isn't the biggest recent pay bump. Last year commissioners' salaries went up 17.66 percent. Other elected officials got increases between 2.7 percent and 13.6 percent. In the coming year, county managers will get a 3 percent wage increase. Some will also get "step" increases. Commissioner Ric Holt said that while his new wage of $27.91 an hour looks like a lot, he's not an hourly worker. He said he puts in long work weeks, even though his salary is based on 40 hours. "I can assure you we work more than that and weekends," he said. "And we bring an awful lot of money in here in economic development." County raises Here are raises approved for Jackson County elected officials, followed by yearly salaries as of July 1: Assessor : 6 percent ($65,624) Clerk : 6 percent ($64,522) Commissioners : 6 percent ($58,053) District attorney: 7.5 percent (most of salary set by state) Gold Hill justice of the peace: 7.5 percent ($32,741). Surveyor : 8 percent ($52,062) Sheriff : 8.5 percent ($75,130) Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA