Utah County Commission approves pay increases for elected officials, judges and staff

Utah County Commission approved pay increases for elected officials, Justice Court judges and county employees at its March 5 meeting.

The commission voted to raise elected officials' salaries by 2%, approved a 7.7% adjustment for two Justice Court judges to maintain their position in the statewide range, and authorized a market-based labor increase for county employees of 2.5%, county HR staff said.

The action affects three separate agenda items on compensation. County HR Director Ralph Barnes said the elected-officials recommendation follows Utah County ordinance options that compare either the market increase for county employees (2.7% in 2024) or the average elected-official increase among the state’s four largest counties (2% in 2024), and the office recommended the lower figure. Barnes said county comparators have since raised elected-official pay, leaving Utah County “behind 6%.”

Barnes told commissioners the Justice Court adjustment stems from the Administrative Office of the Courts raising the salary range; the requested 7.7% increase combines an average employee increase (2.7%) and a 5% range change, and is intended to maintain the judges’ position in that range. Barnes said there are two Justice Court judges and that restricted funds are budgeted to cover the increase.

On employee wages, Barnes said the recommendation is not a cost-of-living adjustment but a market-based increase driven by “cost of labor” and the county’s need to remain competitive in recruitment. He described a countywide position at about 99% of market at the end of 2023, and said private‑ and public‑sector wage gains in 2024 mean the county is falling behind. Barnes recommended a conservative 2.5% increase from a 5% pool set aside for wages so the county can target additional increases later for specific “hotspot” jobs that are difficult to recruit.

Commissioners debated principles and timing. Commissioner Gordon said she would vote for elected-official increases but donate hers because she does not consider herself a career politician. Commissioner Gardner opposed increasing elected-official pay, saying elected officials ran for office at current pay and that repeated annual increases are unnecessary. Commissioner Beltran and other commissioners emphasized the need to keep pay competitive to retain qualified, career public‑service department heads and avoid turnover. One commissioner warned of fiscal constraints after recent tax increases and said targeted adjustments would be preferable.

Commissioners made and seconded motions on the items; the elected-officials increase passed 2 to 1. The Justice Court and employee market-based increases were approved; the transcript does not record a roll-call tally for those two votes.

Barnes and commissioners stressed that the 2.5% employee recommendation is intended to avoid pushing any classifications above market and to reserve funds for targeted grade‑level increases where recruitment difficulties arise.

No ordinance, statute number or change to county code was adopted at the meeting; the actions were commission approvals to release budgeted increases and to set salary adjustments per existing Utah County ordinance and the Administrative Office of the Courts’ salary ranges.

The commission moved on to public comment after the votes; staff said the county has set aside restricted funds sufficient to cover the Justice Court increases and that further targeted requests would return to the commission for approval.