Supervisors approve 10% raise for elected officials
Jan. 11—OTTUMWA — The price of business is going up, and the Wapello County Board of Supervisors is trying to keep pace.
The supervisors, though not unanimously, took a major step and approved a 10% raise for the next fiscal year for each of the county's six elected officials during Tuesday's meeting at the courthouse, where members of each office were represented, as well as the Wapello County Compensation Board.
New salaries for attorney, auditor, recorder, treasurer, sheriff and the supervisors will go into effect on July 1. Last year, the raise was between 2% and 3%.
Supervisors Brian Morgan and Wayne Huit approved of the raise, while Jerry Parker was only willing to go about halfway. Parker explained his reasoning, saying many people lost their jobs during the pandemic, but the elected officials "didn't really lose any pay during that time."
"I think asking citizens to pay 10% is out of line. You know, 5% would have been a really good pay increase, bigger than they've had in several years," he said.
Parker also claimed that health insurance is essentially free to county employees. In the past, he's said salaries are lower because of excellent health, sick time and vacation benefits.
"We get free health insurance. The people on Medicare have to pay about $40 a month for their health insurance," he said. "What do we pay? Nothing. But there's going to start to be a small stipend July 1. So we're asking those people out there who have really suffered over the last couple years to pay more.
"I just think that's not proper to ask them ...," he said, "... no one's getting 10% raises out there."
The raise is still well below the 30% recommended by the compensation board, as the county ranks in the bottom tier of counties statewide when it comes to salaries for auditor, recorder, sheriff and treasurer. However, most acknowledged this was an improvement.
"There's no reason these people should be down in the 80th percentile in the state of Iowa," said Dianne Kieffer, who served in the treasurer's office for 45 years and is a current member of the compensation board. "I really think this is a step in the right direction. At least this is a beginning to get them where they need to be."
Kiefer said when the state legislature gave power to the county supervisors to set the pay for elected officials, valuations and populations helped determine those numbers.
"And Wapello County's elected officials were treated much more fairly then than they have been in the last 15 years," she said. "Jerry, I appreciate you trying to hold the line for the taxpayers, but the government recognized that prices are going up on everything. We look at all these numbers, and to me, it's just an injustice that our elected officials ... this decision today impacts them for the rest of their lives."
Deputy auditor Danielle Weller said she couldn't stay quiet anymore regarding wages for elected officials. She will receive about 80-85% of the increase auditor Kelly Spurgeon receives.
"I've been a Wapello County employee for 18 years, and not once have I ever spoke up and voiced my opinion, but this year I felt very compelled to do so," she said before the vote. "It's time to change this downward spiral and take a step in the other direction. Each office has a crucial role in the day-to-day operations to keep it running as smoothly as possible.
"I ask that you show the employees of this county that they are valued and appreciated," she said. "Invest in us."
Morgan, who owns Morgan's Corner Bar and Grill, said his business has had to shut down partially because of the lack of staff. He said he will have to increase their pay to stay open.
"I'll have to raise pay probably closer to the 30% range because that's what I have to do to find help," he said. "Pay is going up, whether we like it or not. I don't want to see us losing deputies, and I'm not diminishing you as elected officials.
"I think we're starting in the right direction."
— Chad Drury can be reached at cdrury@ottumwacourier.com, and on Twitter @ChadDrury
