Lawrence County salary board approves renaming, one-time $2,000 pay increases for prothonotary deputies

The Lawrence County Salary Board voted unanimously Aug. 5 to approve two resolutions that rename positions in the prothonotary’s office and award one-time $2,000 salary increases for designated chief deputies, effective retroactive to July 21, 2025.

The action came at a special meeting called so the prothonotary could reorganize staff after a recent retirement. Prothonotary Jody told the board she wants to designate a chief deputy and adjust a deputy’s pay, and that the changes were driven by a vacancy that could not wait for the board’s normal annual budget review. “So I have my 1 deputy who will be going to the chief deputy. She's been here for 18 years. Unfortunately, the base rates never changed. It's 43,000 per deputy, 45 for a a chief. So I'm only asking for the additional 2,000 to put on the deputy,” Jody said during the meeting.

The nut graf: The salary board — the county body authorized under Pennsylvania law to create or eliminate county positions and set pay for nonunion and management employees — approved (1) a resolution to create a voluntary chief deputy position with a base salary of $45,000,…