County compensation board increases salaries for elected officials, non-union employees
The Cascade County Compensation Board voted during its May 20 meeting to increase salaries for elected officials and non-union employees by 3.5 percent for the upcoming budget year, which begins July 1.
They also voted to increase the county attorney’s salary by an additional 0.5 percent for a total 4 percent increase.
Sheriff Jesse Slaughter requested an additional increase to bring his total increase to five percent, since deputy pay is tied to his salary, but the board declined to do so.
The county compensation board is established by state statute and consists of the county commissioners, the county attorney, plus three other elected county officials appointed by commissioners, and two to four resident taxpayers.
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The three other elected officials on this year’s board are Tina Henry, clerk of court; Diane Heikkila, treasurer; and Jesse Slaughter, sheriff.
The citizen members are Neal Dubois, Lee Diedrich and Margaret Mitchell.
The board meets annually to review compensation for county officers and may consider compensation for comparable officials in other Montana counties, other states, state and federal government and the private sector.
The increase triggers increases in sheriff deputy pay since their salaries are percentages of the sheriff’s salary, as specified in state law.
The additional 0.5 percent increase for the county attorney equates to $746.
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Current base salaries are:
- county commission: $78,164.84, plus a $2,000 statutory increase
- clerk of court and justices of peace: $78.164.84, plus a statutory $2,000 increase
- treasurer and clerk and recorder: $78,164.84, plus a statutory $5,032 increase
- sheriff: $97,706.04, plus a statutory increase of $5,032, plus a longevity increase
- county attorney: $148,872, capped at $159,813
The county attorney’s salary is capped at the salary of a district court judge, currently $159,813, according to the county human resources department.
With the increases, the new base salaries will be:
- county commission: $80,900.61, plus a $2,000 statutory increase
- clerk of court and justices of the peace: $80,900.61 plus a statutory increase
- treasurer and clerk of recorder: $80,900.61 plus a $5,032 statutory increase
- sheriff: $103,125.76 plus a $5,032 statutory increase and a longevity increase
- county attorney: $154,828, capped at $159,813
The increases approved by the compensation board during their May 20 meeting include:
- $426,504.34 of wage increases for elected officials and non-union employees, including sheriff’s deputies
- $649,743.94 of estimated increase in collective bargaining agreements
- $1,076,248.28 total salary increases for the upcoming budget year
The Legislature recently changed the property tax cap for local governments under which the county may only increase taxes by the average rate of inflation for the prior three years, not to exceed four percent.
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This year, that cap is 2.97 percent, which equates to a maximum increase of $776,253 in the general fund; $75,699 in the road fund and $48,812 in the rural funds, for a total of $900,764.
The cost-of-living increase set by the Montana Association of Counties for the next budget year is 2.6 percent, which county staff had already factored into the budget for non-union employees.
The board initially considered a 2.6 percent increase, but it was amended to 4 percent since the board gave zero increase to elected officials last year, and then amended again to 3.5 percent.
The average annual wage increase for the private sector in Cascade County, not including self-employment, was 5.5 percent, according to Great Falls Development Alliance data used in the compensation board packet.
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During the meeting, Cascade County Attorney Josh Racki suggested a 4 percent increase since there were no increases for elected officials last year.
Racki received no increase in the previous year either, as he was capped, but other elected officials received a 4.1 percent increase that year.
Heikkila, county treasurer, and Henry, clerk of court, agreed.
Mitchell, a citizen member of the board, said she was trying to understand the county’s overall tax situation and unknowns pertaining to tax protests and preferred to stick with a 2.6 percent increase.
County board votes to increase pay for elected officials, non-union employees by 4.5 percent [2022]
Commissioner Joe Briggs said he had to convince himself that a 2.6 percent increase would be okay within the budget and he’d have concerns with a 4 percent increase, though he understood the reasoning.
DuBois, a citizen member of the board, suggested a 3.5 percent increase, which was approved.
The board is able to consider an additional increase for the sheriff, beyond what it grants the other elected officials.
Slaughter said he was going to request an additional 2.4 percent, but based on the change for the other elected officials, requested an additional 1.5 percent to make it a total 5 percent increase for the sheriff, to further increase sheriff deputy salaries.
County to increase pay for elected officials, non-union employees, deputies [2021]
He said he was concerned about the county’s salary competitiveness with other agencies he loses deputies to, such as the Great Falls Police Department.
Sheriff deputies aren’t able to bargain for salaries in collective bargaining since their compensation is statutorily tied to the sheriff.
Detention officers do bargain for their compensation through the collective bargaining process and could end up with a higher increase than the sheriff deputies, Slaughter said.
Lee Diedrich, a citizen member of the board, said he understood but felt the 3.5 percent increase was sufficient and that every employer was losing good people.
County elected officials, deputies get cost of living increase [2020]
Briggs and Besich said during the meeting that the county public safety levy passed by voters in 2022 would likely not cover all the sheriff’s office increases in this budget year.
Slaughter said he respects the board’s decision, but has to advocate for his deputies.
In discussing health insurance, Trista Besich, county finance officer, said that the county has two basic plans for which the county covers the bulk of employee costs, but for family plans, some of the cost is passed to the employees.
Briggs said that’s been a real challenge to provide that benefit and he’s not sure how long the county can continue to do so, but health insurance is important to employees and the benefit impacts retention.
Commissioner Eric Hinebauch said it’s great, but “I don’t think it’s competitive.”
It would be cost-prohibitive for the county to cover health insurance costs for families, Besich said.
There are currently 333 employees on county health insurance for a current county cost of $3,964,032, Jeff Mora, county human resources director, told the board.
The county is anticipating a 5 percent increase for the upcoming budget.
The county may use the permissive medical levy to help offset those health insurance costs and the maximum it can levy is $227,107, which likely won’t cover the estimated increase, according to county staff.
Moving back to Slaughter’s request for an additional 1.5 percent increase, the board declined.
“All employees are working hard,” Mitchell said.
The board also separately considered an additional 0.5 percent increase for the county attorney.
DuBois, a local attorney, said Racki “could make a lot more in the private sector,” and the request was “minuscule” compared to those private attorney rates.
Mora, county HR director, said that the collective bargaining groups closely watch the compensation board decisions as part of their negotiations.
The county has 12 collective bargaining agreements covering 16 union groups, he said.
The budget for the fiscal year starting July 1 is currently being developed, but Besich said departments were told to hold operating budgets flat and several departments have been required to reduce positions or are choosing not to fill vacancies.
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To date, 24 positions for a total of 23.5 FTEs have been impacted. Additional reductions are being assessed and more vacancies aren’t being filled, Besich said.
The county’s local marijuana tax is now generating about $260,000 annually for the last few years, up from the initial $45,000.
