Senate committee advances bill letting counties set elected-official pay; removes auditor certification requirement

A West Virginia Senate committee voted to report a committee substitute as amended for Senate Bill 6-90 to the full Senate with the recommendation that it pass. The substitute would authorize county commissions to set base salaries for elected county officials across the state's 10 county classes and allow biennial salary increases if the county budget meets specified fiscal criteria; increases are capped by the consumer price index and, if given, must be at least 2 percent.

Counsel told the committee the bill amends two sections of West Virginia Code chapter 7 governing counties and establishes a biennial review process. "It then provides for biennial, every other year, salary increases for county commissioners and the elected officials if, the budget has increased sufficiently to give the county commissioners and elected officials a 2% or greater raise, including the related employment taxes," counsel said.…