Roosevelt County discusses pay increases for elected officials under Resolution 2024-43; no vote in transcript

Roosevelt County commissioners discussed Resolution 2024-43, a proposal to set salaries for elected officials now that the pay cap has returned to county control. During public comment, Probate Judge Bridal Terry urged the board to "greatly consider" a proposal to raise the county clerk’s salary, praising the clerk’s assistance to the probate office.

Commissioners questioned the scope and legal authority for selective raises. One commissioner asked whether the board could grant a raise to a single department or must apply changes across the board; a staff member on the phone said the commission has discretion to grant raises for particular departments or positions. The discussion centered on incoming elected officials rather than general county employees.

Speakers reviewed recent compensation actions. Commissioners noted the board had approved raises in 2022 and again in 2024; one commissioner said the clerk’s current salary is "61,6125" as read aloud in the meeting and that it was set to increase under previously approved adjustments by $12,640. The exact post-increase figure was spoken in the meeting in a way that was unclear in the transcript and is reported here as stated by the speaker.

Several commissioners urged caution about the timing and equity of any additional increases, saying that targeting elected officials first could harm morale among rank-and-file employees—particularly road department workers—whose pay they said has not been competitive. "I just really feel like that if we're gonna do something like that, we need to take every single employee into consideration," one commissioner said.

One commissioner presented three draft resolution options proposing 7%, 10% and 14% increases for elected officials, characterizing 7% as "a fair amount," 10% as pacing staff raises, and 14% as an inflation-paced figure that the speaker did not expect to pass. Commissioners traded views on budget capacity, with at least one saying the county could afford increases but others urging cross-departmental fairness.

The transcript provided ends with discussion and no recorded final vote on Resolution 2024-43. Commissioners indicated the matter could be revisited; no formal action or amendment outcome appears in the available record.