Lake County struggles with wage increases for county workers

Lake County employees won’t see much of a pay increase in the coming year if commissioners stick with a plan passed by the Board of Compensation on Tuesday.

The board, which meets annually to review payroll increases as part of the annual budget process, is comprised of department heads James Lapotka, Carolyn Hall, Lyn Fricker and Kendra Steele as well as two citizens: attorney Bob Long and radio newsman Jeff Smith.  

Unlike last September, when the board recommended -- and the commissioners approved -- a 5% across-the-board pay increase or $1 more an hour, whichever was higher, this year’s board wrestled with the possibility of no increase at all due to budget constraints.

The issue, said commissioners, is an inaccurate budget forecast made by the previous chief financial officer coupled with two expensive building projects.

“We thought, as commissioners, based on the advice of our former chief financial officer that we had more money to put towards the building of the annex than what we actually ended up with,” Commissioner Gale Decker told board members. “And that made things a lot tighter.”

Construction on the three-story annex, located across from the courthouse, is underway and will cost $7 million. Commissioners thought they had $3 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to spend on the project. Instead, their new chief financial officer, Tara Barry, who came on board a year ago, only found about $1 million.

“That's a huge mistake,” Long said. “How did that happen?”

“I don't know,” replied Decker. “There's no money missing. The money was there, but the use of it was restricted.”

At the onset of the meeting, Barry outlined some options for the board to consider. With a 0% increase, the budget would balance. At 3% for employees and no increase for elected officials, the budget shortfall would amount to around $334,000, and a 3% across the board increase, including elected officials, would create a deficit of around $434,000. Since the county is required to balance its budget, any projected shortfall due to salary increases will need to be extracted from department budgets.

Barry said she would continue to scour those budgets for more savings. Decker pointed out that the Sheriff’s Office is the largest and most expensive department in county government.

In addition, a complex pay formula for the county’s 24 deputies guarantees them a 1% annual increase based on longevity, plus a bump that’s tied to any increase in the sheriff’s salary. In addition, deputies in their first 10 years of service are guaranteed a 2% annual increase and 1% annually after 10 years.

So even if county commissioners denied elected officials an increase, deputies would still get a more significant pay hike than other county employees.

Hall, who is county superintendent of schools, advocated no increase. 

“I make a motion that we that we lead by example and when there isn't money we don't spend it,” she said.

Her motion was seconded by Smith. 

“I've always said if there's money in the budget, then give it to them,” he said. “If it's not, you don't.”

No other board members supported that option.

Steele, the clerk and recorder, worried that no increase in wages would make recruitment and retention that much more difficult.

“I put out a job position in February and finally got someone two weeks ago, and I want to keep the people I have,” she told commissioners. “If that means I need to crunch to keep them happy, I'll do whatever we have to do to make that happen. I mean, it's hard to lose an employee and try to replace them in today's job market.”

“I just hate to put the cost of a building somewhat on the backs of our employees,” Decker said of offering no increase.

Lapotka, the county attorney, floated two options. One was a hybrid, offering a cost-of-living increase of 3% to employees beginning with the next paycheck, then adding that 3% to the salary of elected officials in early 2025. It didn’t get much traction.

His second suggestion, which ultimately earned yes votes from five of six board members, was a 1% across-the-board raise. According to Barry, the solution is “doable,” but will still require budget cuts of around $100,000, and only amounts to about 22 cents an hour for most employees.