Budget committee approves 2.7% COLA for six elected officials, splits on market increases

The Clackamas County Budget Committee on April 21 approved a 2.7% cost-of-living adjustment for six elected officials — the assessor, clerk, district attorney, justice of the peace, sheriff, and treasurer — while excluding that increase for the board of county commissioners.

The motion to apply the 2.7% COLA to the six elected officials drew an amendment from the motion-maker (new budget committee member Jeff Kaitton) to exclude county commissioners; the amended motion passed 8–1, with Mr. Cernach recording the lone no vote.

The committee then considered market adjustments recommended by the Compensation Board, whose staff liaison Nina Monroe Smith and chair Jennifer Justice presented the board’s approach: compare Clackamas County positions to a set of regional peers, apply market adjustments where a position is more than 2.5% below market, and address internal "compression" where an elected official’s pay is within 5% of top department staff.

Votes on position-specific recommendations followed. The committee voted unanimously (9–0) to deny a market increase for the county assessor; committee members left the assessor at the new COLA level only (the packet listed the assessor's current salary as $173,120 and an Option A total of $186,151). The County Clerk's market adjustment (Option B as presented in the packet) passed 8–1 after discussion about the size of that increase. A market adjustment for the justice of the peace (Option B) also passed 8–1.

The committee rejected a compensation-board recommendation to add 0.5 percentage point for the sheriff based on compression with the undersheriff; members were told the statute requires the sheriff be paid more than any employee but does not prescribe a minimum percentage, and the motion to deny the 0.5% increase passed 9–0. After an initial failed motion to leave the treasurer unchanged, the committee voted to approve a 5% market adjustment for the treasurer (9–0).

A separate Compensation Board recommendation to increase the commission chair's "add-to-pay" from 2% to 3% failed to reach the required threshold; the motion received five affirmative votes and did not pass.

Jennifer Justice and county HR staff said the board also recommended keeping comparables (including Benton County, Portland, Vancouver and neighboring counties) and that the board provided two market options where appropriate to give the committee discretion. Committee members repeatedly framed their votes in light of county fiscal pressure: several commissioners said they were personally unwilling to take raises as a gesture to taxpayers while also noting recruitment and retention arguments for closer-to-market pay in some offices.

The committee's actions record the votes and direction to staff; implementation details and final pay tables will be reflected in the budget materials to be released ahead of the next budget committee meeting.