Supervisors hear salary recommendations from Compensation Board

by Bob Beach

During its regular meeting Monday, January 28, the Allamakee County Board of Supervisors formally received the recommendation from the Compensation Board for salary increases for elected county officials. Speaking on behalf of the Compensation Board, Bill Shafer said that the Board met twice to compare the salaries of Allamakee County employees with the salaries of those holding similar positions.
Shafer said that the Compensation Board found that the salaries of Allamakee County elected officials fall into roughly the 80th percentile statewide, while in terms of population, Allamakee County ranks in roughly the 50th percentile. He added that compared to surrounding counties, Allamakee County officials are paid between eight and 25 percent less.
Shafer said that the Compensation Board’s recommendation of five percent salary increases for the Board of Supervisors, along with a $1,000 bonus for the Chairman, and four percent increases for all other elected officials is not intended to bring Allamakee County salaries immediately in line with the salaries of other county officials in the state, but to slowly bring those salaries up to the appropriate percentile rank. Chairman Larry Schellhammer thanked the Compensation Board members for their work and said that the Board of Supervisors would consider the recommendation in the coming weeks during budget deliberations.
The Board also heard funding requests from Northeast Iowa RSVP and Allamakee County Economic Development. In other business, the Board accepted and placed on file the Veterans Affairs quarterly report and began budget work sessions with several department heads.