County magistrates in 23 counties would get a nearly $6,000 pay increase in a bill approved by members of the House of Delegates Judiciary Committee Thursday.
Supporters of the bill, which also raises pay for magistrate assistants and magistrate clerks in the smaller counties, say the bill’s goal is to bring all magistrate court employees in every county to the same level of pay.
Currently magistrates are paid based on the population of their counties. Magistrates in the 32 largest counties are paid $57,500 a year and those in the 23 smallest counties $51,125. Supporters say their caseloads may be different but they face many of the same issues when it comes to tough cases like domestic violence.
State Supreme Court Administrator Steve Canterbury told judiciary committee members Thursday the Supreme Court endorses the salary change and can absorb it with the High Court’s budget. The price tag is nearly $740,000.
Magistrates in the smaller counties received raises in 2003, 2005 and 2011, which Del. Patrick Lane, R-Kanawha, says almost doubled their salaries.
“In the last 10 years the people in this position have had a total pay raise of 26-thousand 875-dollars,” Lane said before voting against the bill.
Del. Cliff Moore, D-McDowell, says the counties may be smaller but the magistrates’ work is getting more difficult with domestic issues.
“Who could imagine, 20, 30, 40 years ago, who could prognosticate these type of demographic problems would happen in rural West Virginia? Certainly I couldn’t,” Del. Moore said.
The committee passed the bill on a 15-9 vote.
Moore wouldn’t call it a pay raise bill.
“No matter how you couch it and it’s not an equalization pay bill but it’s a fairness and humane bill for the people who are doing the same work as other people around the state of West Virginia,” Moore said.
Magistrates in four counties, McDowell, Wyoming, Lewis and Wetzel had their pay go from the upper level to the lower level last month because their population numbers dropped in the last Census. Canterbury says the bill is actually a restoration of pay for those magistrates.
The bill would also raise the pay for magistrate clerks in the 23 smaller counties from $39,552 to $44,712 and magistrate assistants in those counties from $36,048 to $39,348.
The bill now goes to the House Finance Committee for consideration.
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Comments
WV Patriot
So everybody else is being asked to bite the bullet and not expect any pay raises while this group gets a raise. This is unbelievable. These elected officials knew what they were getting when they ran for office. More good ole politics from the great state of Kanawha.
February 15, 2013 at 8:35 am | Report comment
JT
In our county, which is small, the magistrates and assistants very rarely put in a full weeks work, no raise is necessary until they are accountable for a full workload.
February 15, 2013 at 11:37 am | Report comment
Jim
"WV Patriot"---Spot on, please continue!
February 15, 2013 at 11:44 am | Report comment
Employed Now
Yes the economy is getting better...have a degree and years of progressive job experience (until 2010)..applied for over 250 jobs over the past 14 months and finally just got a job this week as housekeeper assistant making $8.80 an hour (40 hours a week) after taxes and insurance I will see $241 a week...down from $30,000 a year in 2009..and will still have student loans to pay after I save enough money to file for bankruptcy on my other debts from last three years of unemployment and near minimum wage part time jobs…went from credit rating of 800 to 300…oh since I have applied for every job at WVU and WVU Hospitals for two years now with no luck I would like to return my degree to WVU for the $30,000 I paid for it since it is worthless according to their own Human Resources office…WVU Hospitals successfully sued me for medical bills even though I have no money and they said they can come get my 15 year old car that has 250,000 miles on it and sell it to pay off some of the bills…please do you will end up spending more money towing it than it is worth…I’m glad I live in the economic oasis of Morgantown where (part time minimum wage jobs are plentiful) or I might still be unemployed…I do feel sorry for the poor Magistrates in smaller counties who were only making $51,000 and am glad that the legislature raised their pay by $6,000 a year to $57,000…after all you do have to have a High School diploma now to be a Magistrate and they could take their High School diploma to the private sector and get a higher paying jobs flipping burgers at McDonalds.
April 21, 2013 at 4:17 am | Report comment