What's in an elected official salary increase?

Park County commissioners' May decision to hike elected officials' pay in 2012-2014 has drawn a lot of discussion. The salary increases came up at last week's GOP commission candidate forum and at this week's county budget meetings. It likely won't be going away until the election's over.

I'm of the opinion that the more facts you can add to a discussion, the better (which may be why my stories tend to be too lengthy). So, with that in mind, here's a little bit of financial context.

First, some background: every four years, commissioners are required to set elected officials' pay for the next four years, including pay for commissioners.* In the last cycle -- 2007 through 2010 -- salaries for the Park County Clerk, Treasurer, Assessor, Clerk of District Court, Sheriff and Attorney rose at a rate of $1,500 per year; commissioner salaries increased by $750 a year.

This time around, commissioners -- on a 3-2 vote -- opted to freeze elected officials' pay in 2011, but continue the annual $1,500/$750 raises in 2012-2014. Commissioners Tim French and Jill Shockley Siggins voted against the motion, favoring a four-year freeze in pay.

For those who disagree with increasing pay, it may be more the principle of the thing than anything else, but here's the skinny on the financials (keeping in mind this is journalist math):

Had the commission opted to go without any freeze, elected officials salaries over the four-year period would have totaled $2,472,444.**

With the one-year freeze that Commissioners Bucky Hall, Dave Burke and Bill Brewer ultimately approved, elected officials will be paid $45,000 less - $2,427,444.

Had the commission opted for a four-year salary freeze, as French and Siggins supported, Park County taxpayers would have spent $2,355,444 on their elected officials' salaries from 2011 through 2014.

So, when compared to the previous, the one-year freeze saves taxpayers $45,000 in the next four years; a four-year freeze would have saved taxpayers an additional $72,000 over the same period.

For even more context, here's a list of elected officials' salaries around the state, compiled by the Hot Springs County Clerk earlier this year. Not all of the figures may be apples-to-apples: though the salaries are supposed to be as of Dec. 31, 2009, commissioners noted that Park County's figures are for 2010.


*Governmental officials are barred from increasing their own salaries while in office, so Commissioners Dave Burke and Bucky Hall -- whose terms expire at the of 2012 -- will not receive the $750 raise in the final year of their terms.
**I excluded any numbers for the County Coroner's salary because 1) it's staying constant at $200 per case and 2) the wage is based on how many cases a coroner handles and therefore is not possible to predict with certainty.