Natrona County board approves one-time 3% pay increase for elected officials, excludes commissioners

The Natrona County Board of County Commissioners voted May 19 to grant a one-time 3% salary increase to county elected officials other than the three-member Board of County Commissioners, following a lengthy debate about fairness, public sentiment and the county's revenue outlook.

Board members framed the vote around competing priorities: several commissioners said they had received constituent calls opposing raises for elected officials, particularly for county commissioners, while others argued modest increases for elected staff should align with any employee adjustments. One commissioner cited U.S. Census figures, saying Natrona County's median household income is about $72,000, roughly 10.7% of residents live below the poverty line and nearly 29% of households include someone 65 or older, and argued a proposed 12% boost would exceed local income growth.

A motion to set a one-time 3% increase for elected officials (excluding the BOCC) for the next four fiscal years was made and seconded. One board member announced an abstention due to a potential future conflict; the board took a voice vote and approved the motion. The record does not include a roll-call tally in the transcript; the meeting audio indicates a voice vote with the chair declaring the motion passed.

The board also recorded a prior decision to set the county treasurer's bond at $100,000; staff confirmed the action was placed in the meeting minutes and the board approved it by motion and voice vote.

In related business, county staff reported ongoing administrative work that informed budget conversations. County administrative staff member Ashley said the county filed the Vista West response, is reviewing personnel policies chapter-by-chapter with the personnel policy review committee, is preparing several contract renewals for the next fiscal year, and has drafted East End Road easements pending legal review. Ashley also told the board the county had completed about 50 Title 25 hearings so far this month and was processing a major public records request of more than 30,000 emails due in early June.

A public commenter, Cameron Savage of Casper, thanked the board for excluding the commissioners from pay increases and urged the county to pursue other employee compensation measures that impose limited direct cost, such as adjusting vacation accruals.

The board briefly recessed into executive session to discuss possible litigation; no details were released publicly when the meeting resumed. The board approved the consent agenda later in the session and moved on to remaining items.

The board instructed staff to record the actions in the minutes; no further timetable for implementing any additional employee pay changes was set during the meeting.