County Compensation Board Meets

The County Salary Compensation Board met Monday afternoon at the courthouse, to establish the base salary for elected officials of Powder River County for the 2019-20 fiscal year. The Board consists of the three County Commissioners (Donna Giacometto, Lee Randall, and Rod Schaffer), Clerk & Recorder Cynde Jo Gatlin, Treasurer/ Assessor Pat Phillippi, Sheriff/Coroner Allen Drane, Jr., County Attorney Jeff Noble, and two Resident Taxpayers – Mike Riley and Julie Collins.

Elected officials in Powder River County currently make $43,368.55 per year.

In reading the minutes from the meeting last year, the board noted that while the minutes were written to include a raise for the officials, no such raise had taken place. What had taken place was that the board had voted for a pay raise in the 2018 meeting, but because 2/3 of the commissioners had not voted for the raise, the vote did not pass, and no raise had been granted. The 2/3 commissioner vote is set up by Montana statute.

A motion was then made and passed to amend the minutes of the 2018 meeting to indicate there was no increase in salary, which was in fact the case.

The board then discussed the consumer price index inflation rate, as determined by the US Department of Labor. This rate indicated a 1.02% inflation rate over last year.

In discussing last year’s lack of a raise, a document of salary survey results from the Montana Association of Counties was distributed though the room. This document provided base salary information for elected officials throughout the state.

In 2018, the only county other than Powder River County that did not see an increase in elected official salary was Broadwater County. Per the MACo document, salaries in our area include Carter County: $53,131, Custer County: $57,284, Garfield County: $41,188, Prairie County: $43,834, Wibaux County: $48,897, and Rosebud County: $57,996. These counties generally had around a 2% increase in salary last year, with Carter County officials receiving a 7% raise last year.

According to Commissioner Randall, Carter County now has a tax valuation of around 52 million, compared to Powder River County’s 15 million dollar valuation.

Of those counties listed, Prairie, Wibaux, Carter, and Garfield all have part time commissioners, while Powder River Commissioners are full-time.

This data is all available on the MACo website.

The public comment period came and went with no comment, with discussion then being held about a possible increase in salary.

Lee Randall indicated that oil and gas revenue was expected to increase in the coming year, with Attorney Noble commenting he felt that the county could afford a modest cost of living increase for elected officials.

Randall indicated that he’d like to see if a raise was reasonable, but the problem with a raise was that it would remain in perpetuity.

Sheriff Drane noted that his deputy’s salaries were based on his salary. Deputies may receive no more than 90% of a Sheriff’s salary, and they start out at 85%. Drane indicated that because of the current salary, recruiting and keeping new deputies is difficult, as surrounding counties start their deputies out at a higher wage, with more room for growth. He noted that Miles City starts their deputies out at $22 an hour, Rosebud County at $24, while Powder River County is at $18.54.

Discussion was held on whether the increase in Drane’s salary due to taking over the Coroner duties ($8000) would translate to an increase in deputy wages. Sheriff’s Deputies now receive training as Deputy Coroners, yet receive no additional pay. Mike Riley said that this was something that should be looked into, and the board agreed. Randall said they would see if there was a statute or if it was something that might need to go through the legislature. Many counties around the state have combined the Sheriff and Coroner duties.

Discussion was held over whether shutting down Rich Sparks’ Montana Department of Revenue office led to more work load for the Treasurer and Clerk & Recorder. Treasurer Pat Phillippi indicated that she had seen a significant increase in work load over the previous year, due to the change. Last year, Pat did not take the $2000 salary add-on which was available for her office, but she felt that due to the increase work load from the state office closure, she would like it this year.

Clerk & Recorder Gatlin said that her office had also seen an increase in work load with the closure, noting that the Dept of Revenue folks come down from Miles City to Sparks’ old office once a month, and are able to answer questions. Gatlin indicated that while her work load had increased, she did not feel that a raise was warranted for her office, though she would take the $2000 add-on because of her duties as an election official, which have become more extensive.

Jeff Noble then made a motion to adopt a 2% cost of living allowance raise for elected officals, citing the zero per cent change last year and 1% inflation increase this year as reasons for choosing the 2% number. This change would come out to an $867.36 increase in salary per person, per year.

Sheriff Drane seconded the motion, and when it went to a vote, Noble and Drane voted in the affirmative, with everyone else on the board voting against.

Discussion was then held on why the vote failed.

Mike Riley said that from a taxpayer’s point of view, the cost of a rancher’s inputs are skyrocketing, while their outputs are going the other way. Pat Phillippi seconded Mike’s thoughts, noting that collecting taxes has been difficult as of late. Taxes from ranchers account for a great deal of the county’s taxes.

Commissioner Giacometto said that though the workload of a commissioner has increased over the years, she had agreed to take the job at a certain wage.

One point of discussion that came up was how the Sheriff’s Deputies don’t receive overtime pay. Sheriff Drane said that deputies working extra hours are paid at their standard pay rate.

Several members of the board indicated this was something that needed to be fixed, and further discussion will be held between Drane and the Commisisoners regarding the matter.

The Board decided that a raise was off the table, and the matter of salary add-ons were discussed. For some offices, these add-ons are optional, while for other offices they are mandatory as per MT statute. The Sheriff “must” receive his, while offices such as the Clerk & Recorder, Justice of the Peace, and Treasurer “may” receive them. The Commissioners do not take the $2000.

A motion was made and passed for the Clerk & Recorder and Treasurer to each receive the $2000. Justice of the Peace Kathy Landa declined the $2000. PR Superintendent of Schools Molly Lloyd received a $400 add-on.

The Board then moved to close the meeting, with the stipulation that the Commissioners are expected to look into the overtime for deputies, and the potential for the dual sheriff/coroner position affecting deputy base pay.