Supervisors considers future of compensation board

Union County Board of Supervisors are researching how they will address the compensation board in regard to related legislation approved May 1 by Gov. Kim Reynolds.

The ruling allows board of supervisors to determine how its compensation board will operate. Volunteer positions, compensation board members do various research to determine a recommendation on how much elected officials should be paid in a fiscal year.

The ruling ends all county compensation boards effective July 1. A county compensation board can continue by a simple majority vote of the board of supervisors.

According to the Iowa State Association of Counties, legislation does not prescibe a timeline or deadline for the creation of a compensation boad. County officials should consider typical timelines for compensation board deliberations, collective bargaining, pay for other employees, budget development for the work to be finished. Counties have no obligation to establish a compensation board in the first year. The board of supervisors also have the right to take on compensation board duties. The supervisors can also eliminate any future compensation board in the future with a simple majority vote.

For a county to reestablish its compensation board, supervisors must appoint the members. Supervisors do not have to appoint members who were on the board before the legislation took action. ISAC suggested having staggered terms for compensation board members; those who serve two years and those who serve four years. The compensation board terms will eventually be four years.

The legislation requires compensation board members to “show your work.” That means, members must show their research on how they reached the suggested pay amount for the certain position. Information must include comparable officers in other counties, states, private sector and the federal government.

Board of Supervisors can also adjust the recommended amounts. Those changes can include amounts greater or less than the compensation board’s recommendation. Individual elected officials pay can be treated individually. For example, adjustments do not have to be equal to all. The supervisors are to set the sheriff’s salary so it is comparable to the salaries paid to law enforcement administrators and command officers of the state patrol, Division of Criminal Investigation of the Department of Public Safety, city police chiefs employed by cities of similar population to the population of the county.