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Utah County Commissioner Tom Sakievich, left, speaks during a meeting at the Utah County Administration Building in Provo on Wednesday, March 29, 2023. Commissioner Amelia Powers Gardner, right, listens while taking notes.

Harrison Epstein, Daily Herald

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Utah County Commissioner Amelia Powers Gardner speaks during a meeting at the Utah County Administration Building in Provo on Wednesday, March 29, 2023.

Harrison Epstein, Daily Herald

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Utah County Human Resources Director Ralf Barnes speaks during a Utah County Commission meeting in Provo on Wednesday, March 29, 2023.

Harrison Epstein, Daily Herald

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After a brief discussion during its meeting Wednesday, the Utah County Commission voted 2-1 to increase salaries of elected officials in the county. Commissioners Amelia Powers Gardner and Brandon Gordon voted for the measure while Tom Sakievich voted against it.

Sakievich asked that the raise discussion be delayed until after the county’s mid-year budget to ensure there are enough funds available. He also questioned if it could be altered so the elected official or appointed head of a department would receive a raise at the same time as the rest of their department.

“We did put in our budget this year to reevaluate every employee in the county, which is why this is being considered,” Powers Gardner said.

According to Ralf Barnes, director of human resources for Utah County, salary for elected officials can not be varied within a year or prorated. It would have to happen all at once. Pay for officials will increase by about 9% from $128,067 to approximately $139,421.

“Currently, they’re running about 20% less than the other counties that are comparable for the same offices and it’s not uncommon for Utah County to run behind because we’re very conservative in the way we approach compensation,” Barnes said. “In this case, just because there’s been such a striking increase over the last year in a half with salaries across the county, elected officials have fallen significantly behind.”

According to the Department of Workforce Services, salaries in Utah County increased 5% in 2021. Barnes told commissioners that average salaries increased another 15% in the county in 2022.

“We didn’t come here for the pay, we came here to serve,” Sakievich said. “What I’m concerned about is the timing, of course, and the economics of the community and nation are not the best.”

Every year, the county evaluates employee salaries and seeks to keep them at or around market rate, Barnes said, while pay for elected officeholders is pushed aside until it is “almost a crisis.” He added that equivalent pay is found by evaluating counties of similar size and scope including Salt Lake, Weber, Davis, Washington and Summit counties.

Utah County’s population of 659,399, according to the 2020 U.S. census, is second behind only Salt Lake County with a population of 1.18 million. The next largest county is Davis County with 362,679 residents.

While Utah, Davis, Weber and Washington counties have three-member commissions, Salt Lake and Summit have larger, part-time council members.

Pay for members of the Utah County Commission will now slot just higher than in Davis County ($135,793.32) and below Weber County where members are paid around $147,000 in wages. Members of the part-time Summit County Council earned from $50,000-$58,000, before benefits, in 2022 compared to $46,000-$51,000 in Salt Lake County.

In 2022, the Utah County Attorney earned $147,278. With the increase in place, the office’s holder would be behind 13 members of different county attorney offices at $160,334. Other elected officials, of which Utah County has 11, will be among the highest paid in their roles, though not the highest in the state.

The Utah County sheriff’s salary will increase 10.5% to $146,392 while the assessor, clerk, auditor, recorder, surveyor and treasurer will all increase to $132,450.

“It’s important to understand it’s not just the commissioners in this situation,” Gordon said.

The new salaries will become effective in two weeks, the same time as the regularly scheduled pay raise for police officers in the county. Only one member of the public spoke during the hearing, noting that “legislative pay increases are only effective after the next election.”

Other business

Also in the meeting, commissioners approved the addition of Anthony Canto to the Utah County Boundary Commission. Canto is currently the Utah County surveyor, responsible for identifying, protecting and updating the section corner monuments that define record title interests, according to the office’s website.

A resolution was also passed authorizing approval of flood leave for county employees, following a decision by Gov. Spencer Cox to allow state employees to take up to eight hours of paid leave to aid flood mitigation efforts in their communities.

Utah County employees can now request time off through their department head provided their absence would not harm the department or increase costs to the county. The temporary authorization will expire at the end of August and is in place effective immediately. Utah’s snowpack has already surpassed record levels set in 1983 and cities in the state and valley are actively preparing for potential flooding.

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