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Town Clerk/Tax Collector urges pay 'catch-up' after salary analysis; Budget Committee hears a smaller increase in proposed budget
Summary
Town Clerk/Tax Collector Sam Jerome presented a salary-comparison analysis and recommended higher hourly rates; the draft town budget reflects a more modest increase approved by the Selectmen. Jerome said the combined average for similar towns is about $70,320 for the TC/TC position and proposed increases to better reflect duties and local workload.
Town Clerk/Tax Collector Sam Jerome presented the Budget Committee with a salary-comparison packet and urged the committee to support pay adjustments to better match peer towns and the local workload.
Jerome told members he compiled data from about 15 towns with similar population and parcel counts and found the combined Town Clerk/Tax Collector average salary among those towns to be roughly $70,320, with deputies averaging $55,216. "The combined average is TC/TC averages for their salary which is $70,320 and the average for their Deputies...whereas currently our TC/TC is $52,000 and the Deputy is $45,000," Jerome said, summarizing his review.
Jerome said his original, internal recommendation was a larger increase (he cited a target that would bring his pay closer to $30/hour equivalent), but the budget presented at the meeting shows a roughly 10% across-the-board increase for TC/TC staff that reflects a partial catch-up. He said the adjustment accounts for additional duties the Farmington office performs compared with other towns and for historical underpayment relative to inflation.
Selectmen and committee members discussed the workload differences, noting Farmington's combined TC/TC office handles services other towns separate offices do and that water and sewer workload increases administration time. The committee heard Jerome's explanation and supporting handouts; no formal committee vote on TC/TC salary policy change was recorded at the Jan. 28 meeting.
