ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Mark Thomas believes pay raises of $2-$6 an hour were “long overdue” for employees of the Belmont County Commission Office, but he acknowledges the timing of the action was “not good.”

On Dec. 28, the Belmont County Board of Commissioners — then composed of Democrats Thomas, Matt Coffland and Ginny Favede — approved a “one-time pay adjustment” for the commissioners’ office staff, effective Dec. 25. The vote occurred during the regular weekly meeting of the board, following an executive session to discuss personnel.

The Dec. 28 session was the final commission meeting of 2016, and the last one in which Coffland and Favede participated as commissioners.

Favede vacated her office when she chose to seek an Ohio House of Representatives seat held by Andy Thompson, R-Marietta. Thompson defeated her in the November general election. Republican J.P. Dutton won a three-man race to fill her open commission seat.

Coffland sought re-election but lost his bid to Republican Josh Meyer. Dutton and Meyer took their seats on the board in January.

Thomas, Coffland and Favede spoke to The Times Leader about the decision to award pay raises to the commissioners’ staff, and each said they voted in favor of the adjustment for a number of reasons. They said the employees in question serve all county departments and deserve to be paid salaries that are in line with those of other departments’ staff.

They also noted that the commission office has faced a relatively high turnover rate in the past, because employees could make more money by working for other county departments. They added that the pay hikes bring the employees’ compensation to a level similar to that earned by those in similar positions across the state.

“Our girls were the lowest paid in the courthouse,” Coffland said regarding the commissioners’ staff. “We did what we thought was right. …

“We had a window of opportunity,” he continued. “We cut the budget for eight years. We paved more roads and brought in more businesses. … No board will ever match our record.”

Coffland said numerous commission office employees left their jobs in favor of positions in other offices during his two terms, adding that he doesn’t blame them for taking jobs that pay $2-$3 more per hour. As an example, he pointed out that the commissioners lost their fiscal agent, Cindi Henry, to the city of St. Clairsville, which he said paid her $20,000 more per year than she was earning as a county employee.

“I’d do it again tomorrow, and I would do it again the next day … ,” Coffland said of the decision to grant the pay hikes. “We (Coffland and Favede) did this as outgoing commissioners so the new commissioners wouldn’t have to deal with it.”

Meyer and Dutton both declined to comment on the wage increases.

Employees who were granted a $2 an hour increase will earn $4,160 more in 2017 than they did in 2016, and those who were awarded $4 an hour will earn $8,320 more. The single employee who was granted an additional $6 an hour will earn $12,476 more this year than she did last year.

The staff members’ hourly pay rates now range from $15.09 per hour to $31.69 per hour. Their total annual earnings range from $31,387.20 to $65,908.96.

Thomas said the clerk of the board received the largest increase, because she “is, in effect, the county administrator.” Thomas said the clerk manages the office staff; plans all commission meetings and organizes schedules; prepares all motions and for weekly meetings; takes minutes of meetings and ensures they get placed in the journal once approved; reviews all agreements and contracts before giving them to the prosecutor to approve; and works with all elected officials. He said the pay scale adjustment for the clerk’s position was made after the county human resources department provided the board with other clerks’ salaries throughout Ohio. He also believes the adjustment is commensurate with the work the clerk does in the office.

“Jayne (Long) has been a dedicated, loyal and tireless worker for over 18 years and deserves every single penny she makes in our office,” he added. “Without the clerk of the board, there is no efficiency in our office as she makes us look good on a daily basis.”

Thomas stressed that he has advocated for raises for commission office employees for years.

“The only thing I will rightfully acknowledge is the poor timing of the commission staff raises,” Thomas wrote in an email. “Beyond that, I will defend them with facts, figures and comparisons to others in like positions. I have been trying for years to see that our staffs’ pay scales were raised to be on par with other offices but it has not had full support at times.

“Belmont County’s day-to-day successes are a sum of the whole parts but the glue that keeps us moving positively along is the commission staff,” he continued. “They deserve to be paid a fair wage and they are there now with the amended scale.”

Information provided by the Belmont County Auditor’s Office reflects a wide range of pay rates among the various positions and county departments. The county has about 700 full-time employees and more than 100 part-time employees in departments ranging from Job and Family Services to the Sheriff’s Department, the Recorder’s Office, several courts and many others.

Auditor Andrew Sutak said it would be extremely difficult to do an “apples to apples” comparison of salaries throughout the county departments, because employees’ duties, levels of education and length of service vary widely.

In the sheriff’s department, for instance, one maintenance employee earns $12,10 an hour, while one deputy on patrol earns $22.84 per hour, a nurse at the jail earns $17.14 per hour and an administrative employee earns $19.74. The duties of these employees are quite different from those of the commission office staff. Sheriff’s department employees also work under a union contract that dictates pay rates and increases, while employees in many other departments do not.

Following are examples of pay rates in several county departments:

– Auditor’s Office — $8.15-$36.84/hour

– Clerk of Courts — $12.95-$25.50/hour

– County Court — $9.50-$31.69/hour

– 911 — $15.76 -$23.75/hour

– Animal Shelter — $9.21-$28.12/hour

– Recorder — $9.50-$28.10/hour

– Treasurer — $13-$20.85/hour

– Public Defender — $9.84-$35.19/hour

Thomas said he believes Ohio Revised Code section 124.34 prevents the commission office raises from being rescinded. It states in part: “The tenure of every officer or employee in the classified service of the state and the counties … holding a position under this chapter, shall be during good behavior and efficient service. No officer or employee shall be reduced in pay or position, fined, suspended, or removed, or have the officer’s or employee’s longevity reduced or eliminated, except as provided in section 124.32 of the Revised Code, and for incompetency, inefficiency, unsatisfactory performance, dishonesty, drunkenness, immoral conduct, insubordination, discourteous treatment of the public, neglect of duty, violation of any policy or work rule of the officer’s or employee’s appointing authority, violation of this chapter or the rules of the director of administrative services or the commission, any other failure of good behavior, any other acts of misfeasance, malfeasance, or nonfeasance in office, or conviction of a felony while employed in the civil service.”

Thomas said the “perceived bad timing” of the vote to increase salaries does not accurately reflect the work and thought behind that action. Favede said the board worked on the issue “for months” before voting, and Thomas said the board held multiple public work sessions in 2016 to address the issue prior to the vote on Dec. 28.

“I can defend every decision I make with logical, rational and fair analysis,” he wrote. “Does that make it correct, no, but while I am seated to make decisions for our taxpayers, I too am charged with insuring that the dedicated commission employees receive a fair wage commensurate with what others are paying in Ohio and across the county. My personal feeling is that I would rather go without a small county project, under the commission’s purview, and pay that sum to our staff.”