Polk County News
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • January 25, 2017 3A
Committee agrees to raises for county officials
County administrator say increases needed to bring Polk up to par with salaries in other counties
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — The commit-
tee that evaluates the
salaries of Polk County’s
elected officials recom-
mended raises for all of
them, and providing a sup-
plement to the district attor-
ney’s position for the first
time in nearly 30 years.
The Compensation Com-
mittee consists of the three
non-elected members of the
county’s budget committee.
They review salaries every
year. The group met on Jan.
18.
Current monthly salaries
for the county’s elected offi-
cials are: Commissioners —
$5,679, with $500 expense
allowance; Assessor —
$6,454, with $350 expense
allowance; Clerk — $6,376,
with $150 expense al-
lowance; Sheriff — $7,650,
with $786 expense al-
lowance; and Treasurer —
$1,000, with a $5,850 stipend
for tax collector and finance
officer duties.
The district attorney’s
salary is paid by the state,
and the county hasn’t of-
fered a supplement to its last
five district attorneys, even
though it is a longstanding
practice in most other coun-
ties in the state, said County
Administrator Greg Hansen.
“I have a long-standing
argument that the state
should pay the individual or
that posi-
tion appro-
priately. I
don’t be-
lieve they
have or
w i l l ,” h e
said.
Hansen’s
Pope
recom-
mendation
to
the
committee
was
to
begin with
a
$750
monthly
supple-
ment to
the DA. He
Wheeler
said his
goal is to
increase it
over time.
Addi-
t i o n a l l y,
H a n s e n’s
memo out-
lined in-
creases for
other offi-
Ainsworth
cials: Com-
missioners — 6 percent to
$6,520; Assessor — 3 percent
to $6,998; Clerk — 3 percent
to $6,717; Sheriff — 2 per-
cent to $8,589 and Treasur-
er — a $150 increase to the
stipend to bring the total to
$7,000.
Those salaries still are less
than those of each officer’s
counterparts in Benton, Lin-
coln, Linn, Tillamook and
Yamhill counties. The sher-
iff’s salary is the closest to
the five-county average at
1.53 percent behind, while
the commissioners would
be the furthest behind at
7.80 percent.
“I try to recommend what
I feel is right and what is the
best business practice to get
the salaries in a competitive
area of compensation,”
Hansen said.
The salaries are proposed
for the 2017-18 fiscal year.
Committee member Blair
Wasson asked if the county
is seeing any big swings in
revenue.
“We’re seeing property
taxes growing back at pre-
2008 rates. We’re probably a
little over 5 percent in total
growth,” Hansen said. “You
are going to get most of that
3 percent natural growth,
and new growth is in the
range of 2 percent or 2.5 per-
cent.”
Hansen said the budget
could be squeezed a little if
Proposed increases
Current monthly salaries for the county’s elected officials
are:
• Commissioners — $5,679, with $500 expense al-
lowance;
• Assessor — $6,454, with $350 expense allowance;
• Clerk — $6,376, with $150 expense allowance; Sher-
iff — $7,650, with $786 expense allowance; and
• Treasurer — $1,000, with $5,850 stipend for tax collec-
tor and finance officer duties.
Greg Hansen’s memo outlined increases as follows:
• Commissioners — 6 percent to $6,520;
• Assessor — 3 percent to $6,998;
• Clerk — 3 percent to $6,717;
• Sheriff — 2 percent to $8,589 and
• Treasurer — a $150 increase to stipend to bring the
total to $7,000.
He also suggested adding a $750 monthly stipend to the
district attorney.
insurance coverage costs
make a big jump, combined
with an approximately
$600,000 increase in Oregon
Public Employees Retire-
ment System costs.
“I would say we are on
solid financial ground, as
solid as we have been in the
last 10 years,” Hansen said.
The monthly cost of the
increases as proposed is
$2,461.
“This isn’t going to affect
us fiscally,” Hansen said.
Committee members had
no problem with breaking
with tradition on offering
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the district attorney a sup-
plement.
“I’ve always thought
Greg’s theory made a lot of
sense. It’s the state’s respon-
sibility, let the state do it,”
said committee member
Vern Wells. “I’ve also never
thought that Polk County
would make the difference.
If every other county pays,
Polk County is not going to
change the state’s mind.”
Increases for assessor,
clerk, treasurer and sher-
iff — which, by statute,
must be the highest paid
position in the office —
were deemed reasonable by
the committee. A 6 percent
raise for the Polk County
Board for Commissioners
was viewed as steep.
Hansen said he will con-
tinue to propose increases
for the commissioners until
they catch their peers.
That doesn’t mean the
committee — or the board,
which has refused pay raises
in the past — will accept the
proposal.
“If we do 6 percent on the
commissioners, that com-
bined with last year’s 4 (per-
cent) is 10 percent in two
years,” Wasson said.
He suggested the increase
be cut to 3 percent.
Wells said he took issue
with the idea that it’s accept-
able to pay elected officials
less than appointed officials
to serve as CEOs of their or-
ganizations.
Nevertheless, he voted to
approve Hansen’s proposal
with the reduced percentage
increase for the commis-
sioners.
The cost per month for
a p p r ov e d i n c re a s e s i s
$1,950.
The budget committee
and the board of commis-
sioners will review and vote
on the salaries during the
budget process this spring.
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