County commissioners are considering raising their salaries 23% next year for their first salary increase since 2011 — a move some said would make it easier for people from all financial backgrounds to serve in office.
In an afternoon committee meeting Thursday, a 5-2 majority of commissioners voted to bring the proposed increase to the regular agenda, though no date was set.
The increase follows a recommendation by an ad hoc advisory committee set up last summer to study the issue. The committee recommended the commission chair’s salary be increased to an annual $92,500 from its current $75,000. County commissioners’ pay would go from the current $47,349 to $58,300.
The commission is also considering a 1.5% increase each year as a feature of the county budget. Board members stressed that they could adjust or remove that during annual budget discussions.
If the commission approves it, then the new salaries would go into effect Jan. 13, as the next board is seated.
This would be the first pay bump since 2011
Commission members who say they will support the increase mentioned several reasons — the time needed to serve a growing population of constituents, the cost of added personal security measures, and the need for pay that makes running realistic for people from a wider range of financial backgrounds.
But it was also about the fact that there has not been an increase for more than 12 years.
There were regular annual increases from 1995 to 2008, about the time of the recession, said Hillary Thomas, the chair of the ad hoc committee. There were no pay increases for commissioners in 2009 and 2010, then the commission reduced its pay by 5% in 2011. Former Chair Ed Eilert took another pay reduction for his position in 2012.
Pay for elected officials has been an issue in recent years because of concerns that the limited salaries discourage younger and working class residents from running. The Kansas Legislature recently nearly doubled pay for rank-and-file legislators.
Two years ago, the Johnson County Charter Commission debated an idea to build an annual increase into the County Commission pay. That idea lost, but in a close vote.
Commissioners want running for office to be accessible
Commissioners acknowledged Thursday that they could be setting themselves up for criticism, but those in favor said it is important to address the need to make the positions accessible for more people to run and also address the practical aspects of stagnant pay.
“No matter what we do, there’s going to be a lot of criticism,” said Commissioner Janeé Hanzlick, adding that Johnson County commissioners will still be the lowest paid among the state’s most populous counties. Sedgwick County commissioners get $101,527, and Shawnee commissioners $60,833, she said.
Chair Mike Kelly said salary discussion is bound to be difficult, but may be more palatable to some now that the commission-approved pay increases for county employees are in place. “We know it’s not politically popular to talk about our salaries, but at the same time, it is important for us,” he said.
Hanzlick asked for the 1.5% annual increase to be written into the budget process because the controversy over elected pay raises often makes elected officials reluctant to bring it up every year. The committee had recommended that commissioner pay be discussed every year, with a larger overview every four years.
A 1.5% increase is less than the 3.5% merit raise pool for county employees. It also works out to about the same increase as the ad hoc committee’s recommendation, if it had been done every year since 2010 instead of all at once.
Outgoing Commissioner Charlotte O’Hara, who voted against the salary increase recommendation, noted the timing. “Our constituents just received their tax bills, and a lot of folks are pretty unhappy.”
O’Hara asked if benefits were considered in the committee’s recommendations. She said that the commission chair, for example, has benefits of about $30,000 in addition to the base salary.
Deputy County Manager Julie Karins said the committee was directed to only consider salaries, but the benefit information was available to them as well.
“So they couldn’t talk about the whipped cream, just the underlying cake,” O’Hara said.
Commissioner Becky Fast said bringing a wider range of backgrounds to the dais is important to make sure residents are represented.
“It’s easy to rail against those of us who are not as privileged,” Fast said, referring to officeholders who could afford to forgo their salaries to serve. “To people who are privileged, this money doesn’t matter. But people who aren’t privileged need a salary to live,” Fast said. That includes single women, caregivers and younger adults who might not be able to hold office without the security of a salary.
“I’m taking this hard vote because I would love to see a 25-year-old run,” Fast continued.
Commissioner Shirley Allenbrand noted the growing population of each district contributes to long hours of work and makes it difficult for young people with families who are also trying to hold down jobs. She said she chose to give up her consulting business to run for commission.
Allenbrand also referenced the heightened emotional strain during the COVID-19 pandemic and the discussion of a homeless center in Lenexa.
“I’ve had to upgrade my alarm system, I’ve had to put cameras on the front and back of my home. That’s a cost to me,” she said, adding she’s had trash thrown in her yard, bullhorns across the street and at one point, a tracking tag on her car.
Commissioners Michael Ashcraft, who voted against moving the recommendation forward, asked to table it for a year to watch the county’s financial situation before making a decision. That idea was voted down 2-5.
Ashcraft mentioned a PEW Research survey that said the public has negative feelings about politicians, believing they run in order to enrich themselves. The pay increase, “is bad optics, it’s bad timing, the intent is somewhat misplaced, and the assumptions are somewhat flawed,” he said.
He added that the cost of campaigning may be a bigger deterrent to potential candidates than the salary.
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