Officials vote against a raise. Others get... Upset?

[KrptcMschfMkr128]

Ok, so we're gonna get upset because they DON'T want a raise?

In forgoing pay raises next year, the Lancaster County commissioners unknowingly debunked a widely held belief in Pennsylvania that elected officials can't set their own salaries.

Even government experts are skeptical that such a move doesn't violate the state constitution.

"A current board — a sitting board — is not permitted to set its own salary," said Brinda Carroll Penyak, deputy director of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania.

Salaries and pay scales for elected officials at the county level are set by the commissioners — but must take effect for future terms.

In other words, the current salaries of $89,761 for Commissioners Chairman Dennis Stuckey and $88,734 for commissioners Scott Martin and Craig Lehman were set by the previous board, in a resolution passed in 2007.

And, historically, those pay-scale resolutions were never amended. In fact, most believed they couldn't be amended.

"I don't know how they could do that under the state constitution," Penyak said. "It sounds like a question for the attorneys."

Well, in Lancaster County, the attorneys have ruled.

And it's legit, they say.

"There's an old (state) Supreme Court case that allows changes while they're in office," county solicitor Don Lefever said.

The case, Baldwin v. the City of Philadelphia, dates back to the 1800s, and two more recent rulings — including Buckwalter v. Borough of Phoenixville in 2008 — have affirmed that municipal elected officials can, in fact, rejigger their pay scales.

The commissioner voted Tuesday night at a public meeting on the $264 million spending plan to essentially revoke the 2007 pay scale resolution passed by then-commissioners Dick Shellenberger, Molly Henderson and Sharron Nelson.

The move nullifies what would have been a 2.75 percent raise, effective in January, for the commissioners and all other elected officials at the county level.

Though tinkering with their own pay level is extraordinarily rare for elected officials, this is the second year in a row our county commissioners have done so.

In 2008, they revoked the 2007 resolution's provision granting themselves and other elected officials raises of 3.5 percent this year. The commissioners instead set the rate at 2.75 percent.

Here's the deal, according to acting county Controller Walt Rogers: "You cannot revoke some of the raises and not all of them. As long as it's across the board, they can."

Given the horrid economy, deep budget cuts and government layoffs, county leaders in other parts of the state — including York County — are taking similar steps to freeze their own pay.

"Somebody might challenge it. That may be the risk our board is taking," Lancaster County administrator Charlie Douts said. "But who? And why? Who in this day and age is going to say elected officials should have a pay increase if they say they don't want a pay increase?"

Penyak agreed: "I think he's got a really good point. I can't imagine under any scenario someone saying, 'How dare you not take that pay raise?' "

http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/245826

[NY Refugee]

These people need to be thrown out of office,
How dare an elected official, take a pay or benefit increase.
Next the people will start thinking that elected officials work for the people

[/dev/null]

Wow.. now we need the national media to pick that story up.

+1 for these folks - they might in fact be the only ones that "get it"

[Al-Mumit]

Wow.. now we need the national media to pick that story up.

+1 for these folks - they might in fact be the only ones that "get it"

Let them vote on a pay cut, than I'll agree. 88k a year? Amazing, I work twice as hard and will be lucky if I get a quarter of that... I always thought public service meant serving the public, but I guess I had it backwards.

May they all choke on a McNugget bought with my tax dollars...

[wa3ra]

Read it again..they REDUCED the percentage of the previously scheduled raise, across the board.

[KrptcMschfMkr128]

Read it again..they REDUCED the percentage of the previously scheduled raise, across the board.

The move nullifies what would have been a 2.75 percent raise, effective in January, for the commissioners and all other elected officials at the county level.

Though tinkering with their own pay level is extraordinarily rare for elected officials, this is the second year in a row our county commissioners have done so.

In 2008, they revoked the 2007 resolution's provision granting themselves and other elected officials raises of 3.5 percent this year. The commissioners instead set the rate at 2.75 percent.

From my understanding of the article, the reduced percentage was the 2008 vote, not 2009. This vote nullified the raise in it's entirety. At least, that's my understanding...

[RJT]

From my understanding of the article, the reduced percentage was the 2008 vote, not 2009. This vote nullified the raise in it's entirety. At least, that's my understanding...

He was referring to the following. It was posted by someone who either failed at an attempt at humor, or can't be bothered to read before ranting...

These people need to be thrown out of office,
How dare an elected official, take a pay or benefit increase.
Next the people will start thinking that elected officials work for the people