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County officials may not get raises

Recommendation would leave salaries unchanged

By Christian Hill | The Olympian • Published March 12, 2009

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For the first time, the commission that sets and recommends salaries for county elected officials apparently won't give out raises next year.

The 10-member commission had its first meeting Tuesday night as Thurston County struggles with additional budget cuts, and several elected officials have requested no pay increases for 2010. The county must trim $5.7 million from this year's budget, several months after it cut more than 80 positions.

In a preliminary recommendation, the commission voted to leave all of the salaries unchanged. However, the commission said it might change its mind if additional information it receives before its next meeting provides evidence that an increase is warranted.

The Thurston County Citizens' Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials, as it's formally called, sets the salaries for the three county commissioners and recommends pay for seven elected officials — the assessor, auditor, county clerk, coroner, prosecuting attorney, sheriff and treasurer.

In the past, it has examined inflation projections and the salaries of elected officials in five comparably sized counties to determine salaries. It was clear, however, from the comments of commissioners and testimony of elected officials who attended the two-hour meeting that the county's financial problems weigh heavily on their deliberation this time around.

Asked by a commissioner whether he can consider those circumstances, Skip Houser, the board's chairman, said that determining salaries is "part art and it's part science."

"It seems like it's more art than science this year," he said.

The three county commissioners and Auditor Kim Wyman, Coroner Gary Warnock and Sheriff Dan Kimball requested prior to the meeting that the commission not consider increasing their pay. The commission forwards its recommendations on the pay of elected officials to the county commissioners for a final decision.

Assessor Patricia Costello, who has laid off nine of her 32 employees, said the commission can't imagine how difficult it is to let them go.