■ RAISES ACROSS BOARD

■ BUMP ‘A MORAL BOOST’

■ COST OF RAISES: $190,000

RICHMOND – County employees will get 3% raises, around half of what is being discussed for state employees.

The Ray County Commission approved the pay bump Monday. Officeholders agreed to give themselves the same 3% increase, but only if commissioners agreed all employees would get the same.

The total cost to give the raises comes to about $190,000 per year, Presiding Commissioner Bob King said.

The increase is a moral boost, Ray County Clerk Glenda Powell said.

As a group, the county’s elected officials comprise a “salary commission,” which in 2020 met and decided to give themselves a cost-of-living increase every year, with the understanding that they would not get raises unless all county employees also received a COLA increase, she said.

“No one in the county got that raise until two years ago,” Powell said.

This year, the group asked for a COLA of 3%. “The cost of living’s gone up 5.1%,”

“The cost of living’s gone up 5.1%,” Powell said, but the salary group is asking for the lower amount. “Elected officials will not take the raise if it can’t be countywide.”

Gov. Mike Parson’s proposed state budget for the coming year includes a 5.5% pay raise to attract and retain government workers.

Ray County needs to offer a competitive wage or risk losing employees to other counties and the private sector, Powell said, though 3% is less than needed.

“It makes (employees) feel better,” she said. “At least it makes them know we’re really trying.”

Wages are low, but the employment strategy also includes holidays and a pension, Powell said.

County employees do a little better, in some cases, than they would if they worked at a fast-food restaurant, she said, but government jobs should be viewed as critical in terms of administering and safeguarding public services.

Commissioners considered approving the raises a week ago but decided, following a motion from Western Commissioner Gary Wilhite, to wait until all departments had presented proposed budgets.

“The thing of it is, we don’t know where our budget is yet,” Wilhite said.

Mainly, the commission had not yet reviewed the Road and Bridge Department’s budget.

Powell said, regardless of other aspects of the budget, the county had money to cover the raises.

“There’s enough revenue to do the 3%,” she said.

“We’ve got to take a look at the general revenue to make sure we’ve got everything in there that’s supposed to be,” Wilhite said.

“Everybody’s turned in their budgets,” Eastern Commissioner Dave Powell said.

“But I haven’t seen (them all),” Wilhite said. “I have all of them,” Glenda Powell

“I have all of them,” Glenda Powell said.

The County Commission decided to wait to see the totals, received them Monday and then approved the raises.