County leaders give OK to salary hikes for some workers

ABINGDON – The Washington County Board of Supervisors gave final approval to big salary increases for a handful of county officials on Tuesday – but it also added raises for some of the county’s lowest-paid employees.

“I think it would be prudent for the board to take care of these folks,” said Supervisor Jack McCrady, who made a motion to increase the wages paid to solid waste department employees who make $582 every two weeks for full-time work.

“They don’t do a lot of physical work, but it’s not the cleanest job in the world,” McCrady said.

The pay increase is to $8 an hour for those who’ve held the jobs less than two years and $10 an hour for those working longer than two years.

The $80,000 total cost will be paid with money the board anticipates will be returned at the end of the month from the solid waste department’s current fiscal year budget.

Supervisor Paul Price seconded the motion with the understanding raises for other low-paid county employees would be addressed during the next meeting.

Board members passed the solid waste employees’ pay increase unanimously and voted 5-0 with Price abstaining to approve the budget with large pay increases for some of the county’s highest paid officials.

“I don’t approve of the budget process,” Price said, “and of course I cannot support those out-of-balance pay raises … In my mind, I can’t justify a nearly $21,000 raise a year [for County Administrator Mark Reeter].”

Supervisor Tony Rector, who had also opposed Reeter’s raise, was not present at the meeting. He was a candidate in a primary held Tuesday.

Price said while he still doesn’t approve of Reeter’s large pay increase, he was glad some of the county’s lowest-paid employees also received a raise.

“They were talking my language tonight,” Price said. “We’ve started in the right direction.”

He said all county employees should make at least $10 an hour.

Accounting Manager Mark Seamon said such an hourly wage would mean a salary of $20,800 – and a raise of more than $5,000 for some county employees.

The total cost of such pay increases would likely be between $100,000 and $150,000, Seamon said.

The final county budget for the 2007-2008 fiscal year totals more than $111 million.

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