A debate on whether to give salary increases to Cole County elected officials is intertwined with legal issues of whether they should have received raises in the past.
When the county became a first-class county in 1997, state law required the creation of a salary commission, which met Tuesday. It meets every two years to vote on whether to increase salaries.
Prior to Tuesday's meeting, County Clerk Steve Korsmeyer found that in 1999 the salary commission approved a 3 percent raise to the 1999 base salaries for four-year terms beginning in 2001.
That action affected the offices of assessor, two associate commissioners, public administrator and treasurer.
In October 2007, Circuit Judge Richard Callahan ruled the salary commission's votes in 2004 and 2005 - making cost-of-living adjustments follow the officeholder, not the office - were illegal.
Korsmeyer wondered if Callahan's ruling also meant the 1999 3 percent raises to base pay also shouldn't have been given.
County Treasurer Eric Peters, who was the county's western district commissioner in 1999, said he and then-county Auditor Jim LePage, came up with the 3 percent plan as a way to justify raises.
"In some cases you now have department directors making more than elected officials," Peters said. "These elected officials have experience and can be justified in getting pay adjustments just like any other public employee."
Eastern District Commissioner Jeff Hoelscher and Western District Commissioner Kris Scheperle are against any raises.
"If this hasn't come up in years, why not let sleeping dogs lie," Hoelscher said.
"What you're talking about could break the budget," Scheperle said.
County Auditor Kristen Berhorst said there is enough money in reserves to cover raises.
Cole County's salary commission voted in 2013 to give elected officeholders a cost-of-living raise - if all other county employees got one - which they did.
In an earlier opinion, county Prosecutor Mark Richardson said his interpretation of the law is the salary commission only can decide if elected officials should:
• Get a raise.
• Get a cost-of-living increase if all county employees get one.
• Not get a raise - but that would require a two-thirds majority of the commission members.
With the vote to extend the half-cent sales tax coming next year, Presiding Commissioner Sam Bushman said he was afraid elected officials talking about salary increases could harm efforts to approve the extension.
County Collector Larry Vincent, who was elected to chair the commission, said he believed it would be good to have an outside legal opinion given about whether the current salary commission is bound by anything from past actions.
"This is a full-time job for me, not a part-time job as has been done by those in the past," Vincent said. "I knew what the salary was when I took the job, and that's fine.
"But I know I've saved the county money with what I've done in my office, including reducing one employee on my staff."
Those voting for the outside council were Berhorst, Bushman, Vincent, Korsmeyer, Public Administrator Marilyn Schmutzler, Recorder of Deeds Ralph Bray, Sheriff Greg White, Peters and Assessor Chris Estes.
Those voting no were Hoelscher, Richardson and Scheperle.
State law requires the commission to meet at least once before Nov. 30 in each odd-numbered year, and it "may meet as many times as it deems necessary" up to Dec. 15.
For many years, the Legislature set county officials' salaries, based on assessed property evaluations.
That changed in the 1980s, when lawmakers approved the salary commission idea for all counties without charters, and designated the county-elected officials to serve on the panel as the commissioners, recorder of deeds, county clerk, sheriff, prosecuting attorney, assessor, collector, treasurer, auditor, public administrator and, in some counties, the elected coroner.
The law also requires "the salary commission (to) be responsible for the computation of salaries of all county officials" - but it must give the same percentage increase or decrease to all the officials.
2015 elected county officials
Office, Salary
Auditor Kristen Berhorst $55,249.80
Collector Larry Vincent $58,456.20
Treasurer Eric Peterst $45,489.72
County Clerk Steve Korsmeyer $55,249.80
Western District Commissioner Kris Scheperle $40,683.48
Eastern District Commisisoner Jeff Hoelscher $40,683.48
Presiding Commissioner Sam Bushman $43,105.32
Public Administrator Marilyn Schmutzler $58,273.44
County Recorder Ralph Bray $55,249.80
County Assessor Chris Estes $58,273.44
Sheriff Greg White $66,803.52
Prosecuting Attorney Mark Richardson $133,716
2015 county department directors
Office, Salary
Finance Director Debbie Malzner $64,240.08
County Attorney Jill LaHue $68,567.76
GIS Director Melissa Johnson $49,959.96
Information Systems Director Dale Gibler $65,753.52
Maintenance Director Greg Camp $45,000
Health Director Kristi Campbell $75,730.08
Juvenile Director Michael Couty $65,186.52
Emergency Management Director Bill Farr $49,384.80
Public Works Director Larry Benz $86,191.08
Ambulance Director Mike Shirts $76,386.48