County officials get a raise

The 2024-2025 Salary Schedule was adopted by the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners at their regular meeting June 26.

The salary schedule is effective July 2024 through June 2025.

All elected officials received a 7% increase effective July 2024. For the county commissioners, it means their new annual salaries are $49,709. For comparison to other nearby counties with part-time commissioners: adjusted for PERS, Crook equivalent is $45,270 and Wasco is $53,298 per year commissioner compensation.

The elected officials had also received a 5% increase that became effective July 2023, along with a 2% cost of living increase in January 2024.

Back in 2022, the elected officials received a 5% increase.

The other elected officials include the Sheriff, Assessor, County Clerk and Treasurer.

So how is this determined? ORS204.112 requires that the county appoint a Compensation Board. That board shall consist of from three to five members, who are knowledgeable in personnel and compensation management. Such board shall annually review the compensation paid to persons comparably employed by the State of Oregon, local public bodies and private businesses within a labor market deemed appropriate by the board for each elective officer.

The Jefferson County Compensation Board is comprised of four long-time county residents who volunteer and meet annually to review the past compensation and PERS contributions. They are provided with a summary of salaries of elected officials in surrounding counties including Crook, Hood River, Wasco, and Union as comparisons. Following their review, they recommended the pay increases and it was approved by the commissioners at the June 26 meeting.