Bourbon County commissioners revise elected officials— pay and assign extra duties to clerk and treasurer

The Bourbon County Commission voted to revise pay for several elected officials and to assign stipends for added duties after an extended discussion about personnel responsibilities and county finances.

Commissioners set the base salary for the county clerk, county treasurer and register of deeds at $58,600; other elected officialsincluding the sheriff and county attorneyremain at their current salary levels. The commission also approved extra-duty payments: $10,000 for the clerk's role as election officer, $10,000 for the treasurer as motor-vehicle/investment officer, and $5,000 for the register of deeds as road records officer. Commissioners voted to table broader budget changes for later discussion and to revisit compensation again next year.

The discussion began when Susan, who described herself as the county's CFO since 2022 and said she is running for county clerk, outlined two years of accounting work she said she completed and the responsibilities she had filled. "I was hired in 2022 as, full time to the to assist department heads and elected officials on various issues for Bourbon County as CFO," she said, and she detailed a long list of prior compliance and payroll issues she said she addressed while in that position. Susan said that many of the financial and payroll duties she performed could be handled under the clerk's office and asked that funds previously moved from the clerk's budget be restored.

Commissioners debated whether to adopt a large, one-time jump to catch up with neighboring counties or to phase increases over multiple years. "If you bump 4 to 5% for the next 4 years...I do worry that if you try to undo...too slowly that you're just gonna be in the same position," one commissioner said during debate. Another voiced caution about sustaining recurring costs: "What I'm worried about now is by increasing this and assuming the cost that it's going to beit's not just a one-time cost...we're going to have to incur this cost each year in our budget."

Commissioner Brent (first name used in the meeting) said he supported a larger, immediate increase for the three elected positions below the target threshold. "I'm okay with the $60,000 salaries," he said during discussion, while other commissioners favored more moderate adjustments and additional study of payroll and duties before broad increases across county staff.

The motion that passed set the listed salaries and stipends and included a provision to table full budget revision for later. The clerk was authorized to continue certain payroll and benefits duties pending a future, more detailed review; commissioners agreed to consider contracting outside budget services if needed. The commission also asked staff to provide more documentation comparing county salaries with nearby counties and to return with cost estimates for alternative approaches.

The vote on the final motion was recorded on the floor: Commissioner Bierbauer voted no; Commissioners Wisenhunt and Kruger voted yes. The motion carried.

The commission directed staff and the clerk to prepare a revised salary resolution reflecting the new pay amounts and to return to the board with budgetary detail and potential funding sources for future adjustments.

Ending note: Commissioners said they will revisit overall payroll and benefits in future meetings and consider a "fresh set of eyes" review or an auditor-level budget preparation if warranted by the commission.