Pay panel keeps lid on pay for electeds

Whitman County’s elected officials will go a third year without a pay raise.

The county’s citizen commission charged with setting elected officials’ salaries decided Tuesday night to keep their 2012 salaries at the same levels as 2011, which is the same as 2010 and 2009.

Noting sagging wages across the nation, salary commissioners said they could not agree to raise those salaries.

“I think the feeling in the neighborhood right now is things are just so tight,” said Dennis Hatley of Pullman, a new member of the commission.

Chair Paul Eichenberg of Palouse initially proposed a two percent raise which would have brought the elected up to par with the county’s other employees, who last received raises of two percent in 2009.

Eichenberg’s proposal was quickly shot down by the other commissioners.

Mark Yrazabal of Pullman said he had spoken to local executives who have cut their salaries 10 percent or are taking more unpaid days off.

“Just so they don’t have to cut the muscle,” he said.

Commissioner Susan Weed of Pullman, also a member of the Pullman School Board, said she could not vote for a pay raise with the deep cuts being made by the state to schools and, especially, to WSU.

“I can’t go out on the street and tell people ‘Yeah, but these guys really deserved it,’” said Weed.

No county employees except those in the deputies union received pay raises for 2010 and 2011. Deputies signed a four-year contract in 2007.

Last week, county commissioners signed contracts with the Teamsters union for 99 road, courthouse and solid waste employees that included raises in the county’s monthly contribution to health insurance from $653 to $695 per month.

Those same medical contributions are given to elected officials and non-union employees.

Negotiations with all the unions for 2012 contracts will open soon.

Sheriff Brett Myers and Prosecutor Denis Tracy attended the meeting, but did not address the commission. Both said they were not surprised by the decision.

Salaries in 2012 for county commissioners will remain $57,024; auditor, assessor, clerk and treasurer $57,283; sheriff $73,869, and prosecutor $116,875.

Nearly half of prosecutor Denis Tracy’s salary is paid by the state.

Coroner Pete Martin’s 2011 salary will remain at $59,388. That number is $2,105 more than the salaries of the auditor, assessor, clerk and treasurer.

The salary commission in 2007 raised the salaries of county officials to 100 percent of the average of five comparison counties. Stevens, Okanogan, Kittitas, Douglas and Jefferson counties were used as comparisons.

Those officials were previously being paid 85 percent of the five-county average.

A new survey of those counties is due next year for the commission’s consideration when setting 2013 salaries.

The 10-member salary commission was created by county commissioners in 2004 to take the pay decision out of their hands. The commission consists of two citizens from each commissioner district, a personnel management professional, an organized labor representative, a legal professional and a representative from the business community.

The four advisory positions are appointed by county commissioners, and the representative slots are filled by volunteers chosen at random from the county’s voter rolls.