Commission Votes To Raise Employee Salaries

Crawford County commissioners on Aug. 15 voted for a $2 per hour increase to the employee pay ladder.

Presiding Commissioner Steve Black made the motion, which was seconded by District 1 Commissioner Rob Cummings and carried unanimously.

District 2 Commissioner Jared Boast said additional meetings with elected officials will determine where employees are placed on the ladder. 

The committee is scheduled to meet again Wednesday, Sept. 6 at 11 a.m. 

According to minutes from the meeting, Cummings said the commission wanted to ensure the county could sustain an increase to payroll.

The pay ladder was introduced in 2018 and was promised as part of the sales tax increase passed earlier that year.

Voters approved the increase coupled with rolling the property tax collection to zero.

The measure was due to sunset Dec. 31, 2023, but voters made it permanent in April 2022.

During the June 27 commission meeting, Black said increasing salaries should be a bigger priority.

He was unimpressed with the salaries the county had on the books.

Black felt a cost-of-living adjustment was necessary, then a raise through the pay ladder.

Black believes an increase in salaries will help the county retain its employees.