Where Somerset's elected officials pay compared to many other sixth class counties

SOMERSET — Somerset County commissioners are paid among the top half in the Pennsylvania sixth-class counties that consist of 24 of the state's 67. But the story does not end there because there are 11 with higher paychecks and very little difference between them.

The state's class of counties is based on population with the sixth class having a population of 45,000 to 90,000. As of the 2020 census, the population in Somerset County was 74,129.

Comparing apples to apples

In a County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania (CCAP) survey from 2021, the Crawford County commissioner's salary was $76,354.89. This was $2,034.89 more than a Somerset County commissioner's salary of $74,320. Crawford County has a population of 83,876. Armstrong County's hourly rate, multiplied by the yearly hours of 2,080 (40 hours a week) is only $43.20 less than Someret County. Armstrong County's population is 65,538.

"Out of the counties listed on that survey, eleven were higher than Somerset," Commissioner Colleen Dawson said recently.

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Another six-class county, Clearfield, with a population of 79,707, pays its commissioners among the lowest in the state at $37,553, according to CCAP.

"Not all sixth-class counties are comparable," said Commissioner Tokar-Ickes. "The population range is 45,000 to 95,000, so the smaller ones would not really be relevant, especially when you account for size of their budgets."

County commissioners set the salaries for county elected officials who are responsible for their departments. Those departments make money for the county, state and federal governments with their services of county residents.

In Somerset County, the salary for the register of wills (had duel positions) is $77,457, only $1,390 less than a commissioner. The other elected county officials are at $70,547, with the exception of the district attorney whose pay is $185,665, with the state reimbursing 65%.

The two county judges (formerly three) and the five magisterial district judges are paid by state funds.

Ongoing: Somerset County Commissioners adopt 2024 budget with 'minor changes'

Commissioners are responsible for the following:

• 429 full-and-part-time employees

• 21 buildings owned by the county

• 62 county-owned bridges repairs and maintenance

• $60.8 million budget for 2024, a 8.1% increase from this year.

• Major projects that include obtaining broadband access, supporting the Que Water System that provides water to several municipalities in the county, obtaining funding and support for U.S, 219, slated to be finished in 2031 with available funding procured through county officials and their lobbyists at the federal and state level.

• County commissioners sit on the prison, election, salary and retirement boards and work together with other county row officers to balance budgets.

The current salary for the commissioners is $78,847.

How salaries for elected officials is decided

The county elected officials salary is not set by the sitting commissioners. The salaries are set in the first year of a board of commissioners' term for the next board members taking their positions in a public meeting, according to the state's Manual for County Commissioners. Otherwise salaries for elected officials can only be changed in the three years prior to the election year.

More: Vacant Somerset County government slots budgeted for 2024: How does that work?

If commissioners salaries are increased, other elected officers' salaries must be increased by the same percentage, according to state law.

“As you are essentially predicting the future," said Tokar-Ickes, "in 2001, the commissioners passed a resolution that changed the projected increases from a flat percentage rate, to a salary tied to the consumer price index, initially providing salary increases to the Consumer Price Index plus 1% until 2016 when it was reduced to the CPI with a cap of 3%. Since the formula was implemented, Somerset County’s elected officials have received an average annual increase of 2.74%.”

Over the past several years, the county employees have annual pay increase of 3%.

“An analysis of sixth-class counties for population and size of budget places Somerset County’s elected officials slightly higher (by less than $200 with the next highest, Crawford County) than comparable sixth-class counties for 2023, however not all counties had passed their resolutions for 2024-2027," Dawson said.

This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Somerset's elected officials compare well in sixth-class counties