At Tuesday’s (11/19) regular monthly Board of Supervisors’ meeting, approval of the Board’s annual salaries passed with no comment and little opposition.
Board Chairman/Williamson Town Supervisor Tony Verno and the Pay Plan Committee, Government Operations and Finance Committees, consisting of town supervisors, recommended a 4% increase for the 2025-2026 budget year, this after the Board reviewed the salary history of members. The raises for 2025 for County Board members will be adjusted to $19,041, and $25,651 for the Chairman of the Board. It will increase to $19,802 for basic salary and $25,677 for 2026. This does not include vehicle mileage of 67¢ per mile using the current IRS (Internal Revenue Service) rate accrued during county business, such as travel to and from supervisor’s hometowns.
Walworth Supervisor Michael Donalty recused himself from the vote, later stating he believed it was wrong for the Board to approve any raises for themselves without outside oversight.
All discussion of the move was held at the closed Republican Party caucus, held prior to the open Board meeting on Tuesday. All the elected Wayne County Town supervisors are currently Republican. The wages for town supervisors is in addition to what the 15 supervisors earn with their town salary for their elected positions.
Initially rejected by the Board of Supervisors at a prior monthly meeting several months ago, the salary adjustments for certain county officers positions, not covered by either collective bargaining/union negotiations, were adjusted for the upcoming year, beginning on January 1st, 2025, were approved, and will now be subject to a public hearing to be held December 3rd.
An original plan devised by the Board committees attempted to adjust both Public Defender and the District Attorney’s Office for county attorneys, but came under scrutiny when it failed to address the salaries of attorneys in other county departments. The question of pay raises was initiated when it became difficult to fill vacancies in certain departments. County officials soon realized that to become competitive with other similar sized counties and with private companies, Wayne County needed to adjust wages.
Under the wage schedules approved by the Board on Tuesday, subject to the overall budget hearing, the new wages for certain titles and pay grades follows:
The annual salary of the County Administrator shall be $172,869
The annual salary of the County Attorney shall be $163,084
The annual salary of the Public Defender shall be $150,350
The annual salary of the Commissioner of Social Services shall be $113,415
The annual salary of the Human Resource Director shall be $119,857
The annual salary of the County Auditor shall be $91,5545
The annual salary of the Director of Real Property Tax Services shall be $98,660
The annual salary of the Election Commissioner shall be $70,436
The annual salary of the Election Commissioner shall be $70,436
The annual salary of the Sheriff shall be $137,399
The annual salary of the County Treasurer shall be $104,754
The annual salary of the County Clerk shall be $105,940
The upcoming Tuesday, December 3rd Public Hearing, slated to begin at 7:00 p.m. at the Wayne County Board of Supervisors’ Chambers and is open to the public. Following the hearing, it is expected that the tentative 2025 budget will be approved.
The ongoing salary question of contractual wages for other departments, including nurses and staff at the Wayne County Nursing Home, Sheriff’s Deputies and other departments will be addressed in upcoming months, according to County Administrator Rick House. The overall plan is to bring the county into a more realistic pay level with other counties and public entities on competitive wages.
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