Will Buncombe County Commissioners give the elections director a pay raise?

ASHEVILLE – The Buncombe County Board of Elections wants the county to give its director a raise, but commissioners are hesitant to approve the increase.

Jake Quinn, chair of the county’s election board, made the request during a Jan. 2 meeting of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners. He requested that the commission’s director, Corinne Duncan, receive a nearly $6,000 raise, increasing her salary from $109,222 to $115,000, a 5.3% increase. The raise would be retroactive to July 1, 2023.

Quinn told the Citizen Times Jan. 9 that the Board of Elections requested the salary increase because he thought Buncombe County was not adequately paying Duncan compared to other county election department heads, and county department heads. He explained that her salary was not commensurate with the complexity of Buncombe's election operation. Quinn wanted to make the request before a pending state law put his appointment to the board of elections in jeopardy.

Duncan, 42, began working at Buncombe County Election Services in 2016 as a technical specialist, making $48,000 per year. After a few raises for cost-of-living adjustments, she was promoted to elections director in 2020 after a nationwide search, bringing her salary to $92,000.

Since that promotion, her salary slowly increased due to cost-of-living and salary adjustments to its current level.

Buncombe County spokesperson Lillian Govus did not make Duncan available for this story, telling the Citizen Times that it would not be appropriate for Duncan to discuss her salary with the press. Govus said that Duncan did not request the salary increase. It came at the board's recommendation.

All other county salaries for department heads are dictated by the county manager and human resources director, determined by a pay scale approved by the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners. According to state law, the county board of elections recommends the director’s salary, which is then approved by the board of commissioners. That salary is determined by directors in other “similarly situated” counties with similar populations and registered voters.

During the meeting, county Human Resources Director Sharon Burke presented an analysis comparing election director salaries for counties in Buncombe’s peer group. The analysis, which included five counties, found that salaries ranged from $98,867 for the Cumberland County official to $182,499 for the Durham County official. The median salary was $109,518.

“We would say we are in line with similarly situated counties,” Burke told the board.

Quinn pointed to a 2014 North Carolina Court of Appeals case that he said complicates state law dictating salaries of county board of elections directors. The lawsuit involves a former Guilford County Board of Elections director who sued because he believed he was inadequately compensated. The Court of Appeals, which found for the plaintiff, wrote that counties should consider several complexities regarding the area’s electoral landscape, beyond population and registered voters. It also directs counties to consider experience, effectiveness and level of dedication of the employee.

While Burke said at the meeting that Buncombe County does not pay employees based on performance, Quinn suggested that this appellate case gave the board of elections leeway to suggest a merit-based raise. Quinn noted that Duncan steered a smooth operation, especially considering that Buncombe County is frequently the target of district changes that pose challenges to the board of elections, and its leader.

“I realize that Buncombe does not pay for performance or merit pay, but it is clear that the Board of Elections is bound to consider the performance of the director when making a request to set the salary,” he said.

Quinn told the Citizen Times that he spearheaded this effort and wanted to get it done before a new state law changes the appointment process for county boards of elections across the state, jeopardizing his seat. That law was slated to go into effect in the beginning of 2024, until a three-judge panel issued a preliminary injunction in November following a lawsuit filed by Gov. Roy Cooper in October, according to a Carolina Journal report. The panel will hear the case early this year.

Buncombe County Commissioner Martin Moore, who is running for the state appellate court, asked for guidance from County Attorney Michael Frue on the most instructive elements of the state statute. Frue said that the appellate court left counties without specific direction, suggesting that commissioners adhere to similarities based on population and number of registered voters.

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“The Court of Appeals left us without guidance,” Moore said. “It seems to happen very often.”

The commissioners ultimately voted to delay deciding to the Jan. 16 meeting.

“I am in no way prepared this evening to make a decision on this because we raised even more questions than I think we had coming into this evening,” Commissioner Amanda Edwards said.

Mitchell Black covers Buncombe County and health care for the Citizen Times. Email him at mblack@citizentimes.com or follow him on Twitter @MitchABlack. Please help support local journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Buncombe County commissioners to consider raise for elections director