By Jim Magdefrau

VINTON – Just how Benton County employees are to get pay raises was debated by the Benton County Board of Supervisors, at their meeting Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024, at the service center.

Elected officials’ pay increases are based on what is recommended by the county’s compensation board. Deputies to these officials have their salaries based on the salaries of the elected officials. The supervisors can not go over what was recommended by the compensation board, and if the salaries are to be cut, it has to be by the same percentage.

Earlier this year, the compensation board had recommended an increase of 3 percent.

Before next year’s budget is approved, the supervisors also set the salaries for non-elected, non-union and non-commissioned, and non-contracted employees.

Supervisor Chairman Richard Primmer led off discussion by observing that if you want to keep good people, you have to pay them. 

Primmer added there has always been an issue of people at the top getting a larger raise than people who are on the lower scale. He wondered if the board can do something across the board so everyone gets treated the same. 

Primmer wants to give everyone a flat dollar amount instead of a percentage increase.

Primmer asked the supervisors for their thoughts. 

The board pondered going with the recommended percentage increase for elected officials and deputies, and then trying a flat dollar amount for the rest. Primmer said wants to treat everybody the same.

Primmer asked his fellow board members about acting on the compensation board’s recommendation. “I know what you want to do. But I don’t think we can do that for the employees,” observed Supervisor Tracy Seeman. 

Seeman recommended tabling this until next week so they can find out if they can do that. He made a motion to table this. 

Primmer again stressed he was trying to keep everyone as equal as can be and still stay within the law.

Bierschenk seconded the motion on tabling the compensation board recommendation and also the rest of the county employees. It will be on the agenda for March 5. “It will give me a week to do some pencil pushing,” Seeman said.

Other business

Robert Spangler met with the board and gave the annual report on the Benton County Historical Preservation Commission. The board accepted the annual report. 

Bids were accepted for Cedar Valley Ranch farm ground. The winning bid was $300 an acre.

Meeting video