Logan County department payrolls to increase by 3 percent

[August 18, 2016]  LINCOLN - On Tuesday, August 16, 2016, the Logan County Board held their regular monthly meeting to vote on several motions and resolutions. One focus of discussion was raises for county employees.

Finance Chairman Chuck Ruben made a motion to approve a three percent raise for non-union employees for FY 2017.

Board member Pat O'Neill said the county employees' pay is lower than many others.

Ruben said the three percent raise would be from the payroll salaries as a whole and not the line items in the budget.

Board member Pat O'Neill said the wording needed to be changed if the increase is not out of the line items.

Ruben said last year increases went to individual salaries because of large payroll line items in certain departments.

Ruben then amended the motion to say the salary line items will be raised by three percent of the payroll line items for that office.

Rohlfs said with the Consumer Price Index at 0.7 percent, he finds 3 percent "excessive" since it is four times that.

Rohlfs motioned to amend raises to 1.5 percent.

Board member Kevin Bateman said 1.5 percent raises are "embarrassing to even offer."

Board member Adam Schmidt said having it set up as a "pool" in payroll allows flexibility for department heads to give different raises to different employees.

Ruben said it is up to the department heads discretion how to reward their employees.

Rohlfs motion to amend the raise to 1.5 percent failed 9-3 with Rick Aylesworth, Bateman, Miles Craig, Emily Davenport, Bob Farmer, Pat O'Neill, Ruben, Scott Schaffenacker, Adam Schmidt voting no. Dave Blankenship, David Hepler, and Rohlfs voted yes.

Ruben's reworded motion to raise salary line items by 3 percent of the payroll line items for non-union employees in Fiscal Year 2017 passed 10-2 with Rick Aylesworth, Kevin Bateman, Miles Craig, Emily Davenport, Bob Farmer, Pat O'Neill, Chuck Ruben, Scott Schaffenacker, Adam Schmidt and David Hepler voting yes; Dave Blankenship and Gene Rohlfs voting no.

The next Logan County Board meeting will be Tuesday, September 20, 2016 at 7:00 p.m.

[Angela Reiners]