The Greene County Compensation Board met Monday.

The Compensation Board is an advisory board to the Supervisors that makes recommendations for salary increases for each of the elected county officials. The meeting started with Guy Richardson being appointed as board chair. The meeting started with the mention that the cost of living was to increase by 5.9-percent going into next year. 

Greene County Sheriff Jack Williams urged the Board to consider each individual duties of each county-elected office, rather than all offices on the same level because each office has different responsibilities. He noted a change in Iowa law was that the county sheriff’s are to be paid within the same salary range as Iowa State Patrol administrative staff. He asked for a 15-percent raise. 

County Attorney Thomas Laehn thought the salaries should be tied to the office and not the individual person and to peg the salaries within the median of other counties. He pointed out the average salary for a full time county attorney is $116,000, which his salary is below that mark. He said to bring his salary to the median with other counties, would be a 15-percent salary increase. 

County Treasurer Katlynn Mechaelsen and County Recorder Deb McDonald each were comfortable with the cost of living increase of six-percent. McDonald added that she would like to see the salary increases for all elected officials be across the board. 

Supervisor Chair John Muir was fine with cost of living increase and believed that the Supervisors would tend to accept whatever the Compensation Board recommended. 

County Auditor Jane Heun said her position as auditor has taken on additional responsibilities and she thought the office itself deserves at least a ten percent salary increase. 

Following the discussion, Adam Pederson made the motion to increase the sheriff and attorney salaries by 15-percent, ten-percent for auditor and treasurer, and eight-percent for the supervisors and recorder. The motion was unanimously approved, with Mary-Jane Fields being absent. The recommendation will now go to the Supervisors for final approval. 

Richardson told Raccoon Valley Radio he and the Board were satisfied with their recommendation, with the main consideration being that the increases would bring all elected officials close to or right at the median salaries with the average of other counties.

“To think that the supervisors, I don’t think they would argue with the thinking (behind the recommendation). The problem is you always have to answer the taxpayers. It’s always difficult to justify the amounts of money you’re spending to the taxpayers. But again, you have to treat people fairly and well in order to keep good people.”      

The Compensation Board includes Fields and Jim Unger representing the Supervisors, Guy Richardson for the auditor, Tom Heater for the county attorney, John McCormick representing the sheriff, Tim Heisterkamp for the treasurer and Pedersen for the recorder.