By ADAM CHRISTENSEN
christensen@du2.byu.edu
Utah County elected public officials will be getting their first pay raise in two years if the new 1999 budget is approved Tuesday.
The last pay raise for the elected officials was in December 1996. All non-elected county employees have received two pay raises since then -- one in 1997 and another in 1998, said Susan Preator, director of personnel for Utah County.
The biggest raise will be for the county attorney, increasing from $71,318 to $81,978 annually. The justice court judge will enjoy the next biggest raise, from $53,976 to $59,228. The salaries of the county assessor, clerk auditor, recorder and treasurer will increase from the current $56,976 to $62,036. The county commissioner's salary will increase from $60,606 to $64,974. Finally, the county sheriff's salary will be raised from $63,492 to $69,680.
Job market research was conducted by the county to determine what the new salaries would be, Preator said. The county decided on the salaries by comparing the salaries and benefits of similar jobs in other Utah counties -- namely, Davis and Weber counties.
'We compared like positions to like positions,' Preator said. 'We looked at the complete package, not just base pay.'
As part of the approval process for the pay raises, the proposals must be passed by an independent council appointed by the county commissioner. This council, called the Career Services Council, approved the proposed salary increases earlier this month.
Lloyd Evans, one of three board members who comprise the council, said the elected officials were making less than their counterparts in other parts of the state.
'We asked (Preator) to tell us how the county did their market survey and she showed us some documents from similar counties,' Evans said. 'It was evident she had done her homework.'
If approved, the proposed raises will not take effect until sometime in 1999, Preator said.