WINNEMUCCA — The Humboldt County Commissioners granted themselves and the county’s appointed officials a 3 percent pay increase on Monday (June 28).

The pay increases for appointed officials came on the heels of the increases for elected officials, which are set by state statute. Those went into effect July 2009.

As was noted by Commissioner Dan Cassinelli, in the past salaries for appointed officials did not keep pace with those of elected ones. He acknowledged the difficulty of giving a pay increase in tough times; however, he noted the appointed officials are department heads just like the elected officials are and their salaries should be kept equitable.

The elected officials are: Humboldt County’s Assessor, Treasurer, DA, Sheriff, Recorder, and Clerk. Their salaries along with the July 2009 adjustment can be viewed here:  Elected Officials

It should be noted the salary of the elected officials shown does not reflect longevity pay. Elected officials become eligible for longevity pay starting in July of their second term. That increase is 10 percent. After that they’ll continue getting 2 percent longevity increases until they max at 20 percent. This is all controlled by NRS statute.

The appointed officials are: Humboldt County’s Administrator, Comptroller/Auditor, Building & Grounds Director, Building Official, Library Director, Road Superintendent, TV/Communication Director, and the Director of the WCVA. Their salaries may be viewed here:  Appointed Officials

Commission Chairman Chuck Giordano noted the rank-and-file employees received a one and a half percent cost of living increase. The negotiations with Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies had not been finalized at the time of Monday’s meeting, but it’s anticipated they, too, will receive a cost-of-living increase. The county’s 18 or 20 non-represented confidential employees will receive a 2 percent cost-of-living increase, which was part of Monday’s vote.

Giordano noted as department heads the appointed officials have a lot of responsibility and are the ones liable if things go wrong.

Only Commissioner Tom Fransway argued against the salary increases. He suggested instead of comparing the salaries of appointed and elected officials, they should be comparing the difference in government and private industry.

He commented, “We try and do things like a business. Everybody says that. Well, make your comparison towards private enterprise and see what those people are getting for raises nowadays. If you want to make a comparison and be fair.”

The motion to increase the salaries of appointed officials passed 4-1.

The salaries for the Humboldt County Commissioners are not set by statute; however, NRS statute does limit any salary increase to 150 percent of what the salaries were in 2003.

During discussion on the issue, it was noted the commissioners did not take a salary increase last year and may not get one for many more years depending on the economy.

The discussion came down to: it’s now or maybe not for many years. In addition, there’s always the possibility new legislation will be passed that changes the way county commissions set their salaries.

Giordano announced he would be voting against the pay increase because he’s prevented by term limits from serving any longer and didn’t want to tie future commission members to that decision.

Giordano and Fransway voted against the measure. It passed 3-2.