Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Compensation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents and an online commenter question $45,000 supervisor pay as board defends budgeting assumptions
Summary
Public commenters pressed the board to justify raising the town supervisor's salary to $45,000 amid reported declines in estimated sales-tax revenue; board members said budget figures use conservative estimates and pointed to property-value revenue as a key source.
Edna, speaking during the meeting's public-comment period, defended past decisions on pay and said she "didn't take this job on because of the money," adding that she had kept local pay low for years and had retired from other work to serve the town.
An online participant who identified himself as Steve Vermont urged the board to explain how a jump to a $45,000 supervisor salary could be justified when town sales-tax receipts fell from $991,300 in 2022 to an estimated $750,000 for 2024. "If you look, like, the town of Hague has 616 people, and the supervisor wants to make $45,000 this year," Vermont said, and asked how the town would sustain that increase with limited local businesses and a declining sales-tax base.
Board members responded that the budget uses conservative revenue assumptions. Chair said the town budgets at reduced percentages of expected sales‑tax receipts, citing an approach of estimating only about 75–85% of expected sales-tax revenue when preparing the budget; the board also noted that a portion of the town's revenue derives from property-value sources rather than solely from sales tax. The board did not change any pay figures during the meeting.
Why this matters: the supervisor's salary is part of the town's operating budget and will affect future levy and service choices if revenue estimates change. The exchange highlighted residents' concerns about using 2022 and 2024 sales-tax comparisons to justify a pay increase and the board's reliance on conservative budgeting assumptions.
