Commission raises its pay

PROVO — Utah County's commissioners decided Tuesday to give themselves an $11,000-a-year raise in 2005.

They also increased the salaries of the county's attorney, assessor, recorder, clerk-auditor, treasurer and sheriff by about the same amount.

It was the first time in three years the county's elected officials had been given a raise, and according to Commissioner Jerry Grover, their salaries had fallen behind those in counties of similar population size, such as Weber and Davis counties.

"Is it a political issue? Yes. Are people always skeptical when politicians raise their salaries? Yes," Grover said. "But the question is, what is fair compensation?"

Grover said the salary increases were determined by an independent board that consisted of personnel directors and attorneys from both the private and public sector.

Last year, commissioners in Utah County made $70,980 a year, compared to $81,500 in Weber County and $91,514 in Davis County.

"If you don't set salaries that are commensurate with the job, you'll have a hard time getting people to run," Grover said. "You have to have salaries that are attractive to people or they won't leave the private sector."

To balance this year's $50 million plus budget, commissioners asked department heads to reduce their spending plans to cut costs.

The sheriff's office will not get all the money it requested for training, and other projects were scaled back.

"We think we're OK," said Utah County Sheriff Jim Tracy. "We would've liked a bit more funding for training, but we can live with the cuts that have been given us."

The pay increases for the county's elected officials —which works out to total $87,000 — will have no impact on a planned expansion of the Utah County Jail, which will cost $13 million. In September, 60 prisoners were released from the overcrowded jail, and restrictions were set on what kinds of charges would merit a jail booking.

An expansion planned for late next year will allow for 384 more inmates.

Because the county does not have any surplus money this year to roll into its capital improvements budget, it will probably have to bond for the project.

The approved raises for elected officials range from about 15 percent for county commissioners to 12 percent for the treasurer.

The county attorney's salary will jump from $89,544 to $100,568. The county sheriff's salary goes from $76,128 to $87,516.

---

E-mail: jhyde@desnews.com