By a 6-5 vote, the Cole County Salary Commission declined to increase pay for all but one incoming elected officials taking office in 2021.
When Cole County became a first-class county in 1997, state law required creation of a salary commission, which meets every two years to vote on whether to increase salaries for those who will take office after the November 2020 election.
The offices that would have been affected included Eastern and Western District commissioners, treasurer, assessor and public administrator.
Those voting in favor of raising the salaries were: Assessor Chris Estes, Prosecutor Locke Thompson, Clerk Steve Korsmeyer, Treasurer Eric Peters and Public Administrator Joe Kuensting.
Those voting against increases were: Collector Larry Vincent, Eastern District Commissioner Jeff Hoelscher, Recorder Judy Ridgeway, Presiding Commissioner Sam Bushman, Western District Commissioner Kris Scheperle and Auditor Kristen Berhorst.
Thompson, although a voting member, has his salary set by another state statute, not the salary commission.
The salaries for Cole County elected officials are: prosecutor, $141,640; assessor, $62,230; treasurer, $62,230; presiding commissioner, $62,230; associate commissioners, $60,230; auditor, $62,230; clerk, $62,230; collector, $65,230; (the $3,000 extra is for doing Jefferson City taxes) public administrator, $62,230; and recorder of deeds, $62,230.
The salaries were equalized in 2016 after the County Commission voted to give county officials due back pay triggered by an unnoticed change in state law.
Sheriff John Wheeler, who is a voting member of the commission, was not in attendance at Wednesday's meeting.
The salary commission did approve a motion to give the sheriff an increase in pay. Estes abstained from the vote while Hoelscher and Scheperle voted against it.
By state statute, Korsmeyer noted, a majority vote of the salary commission could increase the sheriff's annual compensation up to $6,000 greater than the compensation provided by the salary schedule. The sheriff currently makes $69,509.20, so the salary commission voted to give a $490.80 increase per year to make the salary an even $70,000. Thompson said he believes state law indicates the increase would apply to the person who takes the office in 2021.
The salary commission also approved a motion to have elected officials receive the same cost-of-living-adjustment that would be given to all other county employees should the County Commission approve such action. Hoelscher and Scheperle voted against the motion.
When the salary commission met in October 2017, they kept base salaries for incoming officeholders at the current levels in 2019, approving the same COLA percentage increase for elected officials as is given to other county employees.
At Wednesday's meeting, salary commission members agreed to meet with the county's lobbyists, Victory Enterprises and Strategic Capital Consulting, and ask them to urge the Legislature in 2020 to change the current state statute that bases the salary schedule for county elected officials on assessed valuation. Vincent said that schedule changes after every increase in assessed valuation of $150 million but caps at $1.35 billion in assessed valuation. If the Legislature were to extend that schedule, he said, elected officials would receive an increase every time the assessed valuation grew by $150 million beyond the current $1.35 billion cap.
Vincent said Cole County's assessed valuation for 2019 is $1,457,604,514. This doesn't include $1,471,550 in tax increment financing money for TIF's at the old St.Mary's Hospital property, Capital Mall, O'Donoghue's on East High and Dunklin streets. The county's assessed value would have to increase another $43 million to be eligible for an increase if the schedule were extended to $1.5 billion.
The salary commission members said they want to get elected officials' salaries to levels which makes them competitive with jobs and offices that have similar requirements and qualifications so that qualified individuals will want to run for the positions.