Baxter calls for a fourth aide again rejected as Palm Beach County wrestles with budget

Palm Beach County Commissioner Sara Baxter has once again failed to convince her colleagues to approve the hiring of a fourth aide.

Mayor Maria Sachs and Commissioners Gregg Weiss, Maria Marino and Marci Woodward voted against the move on Tuesday, Dec. 19. Baxter and Commissioners Michael Barnett and Mack Bernard voted for it. Had each of the seven commissioners hired a fourth aide, the annual cost would have been nearly $600,000.

Baxter, elected last November from the county's western communities, has been pushing for more staff and higher staff salaries for months. She argued that she needs the upgrades to serve her constituents, and that there would be no financial impact because the salaries for the additional aides would have come from the more than 800 county government positions that have been vacant for more than a year.

Baxter noted that there was no requirement that the additional aides be hired; commissioners would decide on their own whether there was a need for additional staff.

Weiss disputed the claim that no financial impact would result from the new hires.

“It is not true. Everything we do has an impact," said Weiss, whose district is based in central Palm Beach County. "If those funds are not spent, they are rolled over for use in the next budget. I cannot in good conscience support this at a time when we have budget issues, and are struggling to figure out how to pay for capital improvement projects that are coming in over budget.”

More: 'I'm working 12 hours a day': Palm Beach County commissioner makes case for additional aides

Marino said there would be “unintended consequences," since office furniture and computers would need to be purchased as well as office space made available for the new aides.

“This would not be a responsible use of our tax dollars,” said Marino, who represents the county's northern communities.

Baxter, earlier this year, unsuccessfully called for a change in the way funds are distributed for commission aides. She wanted each commissioner to use funds allocated for aides as they see fit. That way, it would be up to a commissioner how much to pay an aide as long as the overall budget was not exceeded. That request was also rejected.

Currently, county commissioners can hire up to three aides. The starting salary is $56,000, but the longer they stay on the job, the higher their pay. The maximum salary is $158,633. Baxter said that, as a new commissioner, that she was having difficulty hiring staff at the beginning salary.

County commissioners this year abolished the position of commission secretary, replacing it with the title of administrative assistant. All aides are now on the same salary scale with those who were secretaries, receiving a salary boost.

Mike Diamond is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. He covers Palm Beach County government and transportation. You can reach him at mdiamond@pbpost.com. Help support local journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach County Commissioner failed approval to hire fourth aide