The Pulaski County Council has finalized some corrections to the county’s salary ordinance. That will mean raises for Sheriff Jeff Richwine, as well as the two full-time employees in the Community Development Commission.
All full-time county employees were to get a one-percent pay raise at the beginning of the year, but the CDC was passed over, since Executive Director Nathan Origer didn’t specifically ask for a raise. However, council members agreed that shouldn’t exclude the department from an across-the-board wage increase.
Meanwhile, Sheriff Jeff Richwine and his employees did get the one-percent raise, but Richwine said his salary is still below state requirements. The sheriff’s salary is supposed to be at least half that of the county prosecutor. Richwine said getting up to that level would require another one-percent raise, on top of the one he got in January.
Council members agreed to those raises last month. On Monday, they finalized an amendment to the salary ordinance, to allow the increases to take effect.
However, Richwine has been calling for his employees to get another raise, to match his. “The total thing would be to get us up to where my salary is and everybody to move up in the matrix would be less than $20,000,” he explained. “It’s about $18,000.”
Council member Linda Powers said steps will be taken to clarify some of the salary issues. “We will be meeting with the matrix group to try and see where things got missed and how we can make sure there’s a smooth transition,” she said, “and also to discuss – because this is an ongoing conversation that’s going to keep happening – and hopefully then go and try and explain it a little bit better to people and have a better understanding.”
Questions about the salary matrix have become a regular feature of Pulaski County Council meetings.
