UPDATE 11/19/2013 The County Commissioners’ Association of West Virginia and its members are not in favor of increasing elected officials’ salaries in 2014. The organization issued the following release in September.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A group of state lawmakers is getting closer to proposing pay raises for county elected officials. A legislative interim committee discussed a proposed plan during a meeting Monday at the state capitol.
Organizations representing county commissioners, county clerks, circuit clerks, assessors and prosecutors have asked lawmakers to increase their pay. The last pay raise was eight years ago.
Senator Herb Snyder (D-Jefferson) discussed a proposed bill that would provide a cost of living raise of three percent every two years. The proposal is also retroactive which would provide a 12 percent increase covering the last eight years.
(Read pay raise proposal here.)
“This is a fair starting point and it kicks in every two years because elections are every two years,” Snyder said. “You know what you’re going to make when you run for office or the next batch runs for office.”
Snyder added the proposal would also keep in place the tax appraisal system that determines an elected official’s salary based on the worth of property in his or her particular county.
Del. Mike Caputo (D-Marion) said it’s a good idea to give small raises every few years rather than large raises several years apart.
“If we don’t move forward on county elected pay raises– in the future we’re only going to have the retired and the retained holding these positions,” Caputo said.
The committee will vote in January on whether to make the proposal a bill to be considered by all lawmakers. The legislative staff is checking on some constitutional questions about the plan.