County board members debate modest pay increases, ask staff to draft proposal

WASHINGTON COUNTY — Washington County supervisors on Tuesday discussed raising the monthly county-board stipend for the first time in decades, with opinions split on timing and method but general agreement to have staff prepare a formal proposal for full-board consideration. Chairman David Schleif opened the discussion by noting the last change in county-board pay was in 1999 and presenting inflation-based calculations. "If the county board had salary had been kept in line with inflation, the monthly salary would now be just over $10.60 dollars per month," Schleif said as an illustration of the disparity; he recommended considering modest, regular adjustments tied to an annual April inflation review. Why it matters: Supervisors said modest increases could broaden the candidate pool — especially working-class residents who must take time off work to attend meetings — and make the chair role open to a wider set of applicants. Critics said an increase during tight budget years could be politically difficult and requested careful timing. Arguments for and against: Supervisor Kelly strongly supported a raise tied to biannual budget cycles and urged indexing increases to inflation on a regular schedule, adding that modest cost to the county budget would help recruit more working-class candidates. "When I got on this board day 1, I was all about that. I love our retirees...Working class people, however, have a much more difficult time because they have to take time off the work," Kelly said. Supervisor Scholtes and others expressed concern about the timing and asked whether raises should wait until staff and county budget pressures are clearer. Supervisor Shodran said he would be willing to let the full board decide and emphasized he is neutral on the proposal. Next steps and direction: Chairman Schleif and another supervisor said they will work with county staff to draft a pay proposal — including suggested amounts, whether to add committee or chair stipends and whether to tie changes to inflation or the budget cycle — and bring it to the full board for discussion. No pay change was adopted at the executive committee meeting; the item was discussion only.