County officials endorse raises

BENTONVILLE — Benton County’s justices of the peace recommended Tuesday raises for employees and elected officials be included in the 2017 budget.

The Personnel Committee completed its review of personnel requests for 2017 and moved most of the items presented on to the Budget Committee for discussion. Included in the items endorsed Tuesday was a recommendation for employees to receive 1 percent cost-of-living raises and for elected officials to have a pool of another 3 percent from which to make merit raises.

Barb Ludwig, human resource administrator, said the Budget Committee will probably set a cap for individual raises. Ludwig said the raises will cost the general and road funds about $775,812 and other funds about $183,433, if approved.

The Personnel Committee also forwarded a package of wage adjustments, salary compression adjustments, possible increases to new federal overtime regulations, reorganization requests and requests for new personnel on for discussion. The total cost of the package to the general and road funds was estimated at about $2.2 million. The recommendations would cost another $303,857 from other revenue funds.

The panel also recommended a plan to tie elected officials’ pay to the maximum limits set by the state. Ludwig said setting Benton County’s elected officials at 80 percent of the state maximum would increase the county’s costs by about $195,000. Ludwig said the salaries will increase as the state Legislature increases the pay range.

“The Legislature sets the minimum and maximum salaries,” she said. “Every year they increase it by 3 percent, moving the whole range by 3 percent.”

The proposal for increasing the elected officials’ pay generated the longest discussion of the meeting, with several justices of the peace and one elected official saying they thought any increase should be tied to employee raises.

“I don’t think any elected officials need raises until after our employees are taken care of,” Linda Hambrick, assessor, told the committee.

“I’m not a member of this committee so I can’t vote, but in my opinion elected officials’ pay should increase at the same rate as employees. No more, no less,” Brent Meyers, justice of the peace for District 14 said during the discussion.

Michelle Chiocco, justice of the peace for District 10, said she supports the idea of having a system in place to set pay for elected officials, but reminded the committee of a ballot measure that could increase the terms of county officials from two years to four years. Chiocco said she would like to see if that measure is approved at the Nov. 8 general election before the county decides on increasing pay rates.

A proposal to increase pay for the county’s justices of the peace wasn’t moved on to the Budget Committee. Justices of the peace are paid on a per diem rate of $200 for the Quorum Court and Committee of the Whole meetings they attend and $125 for meetings of other committees they are members of.