Dec 21, 2022 2 min read

Washington County’s commissioners and most of its row officers will no longer be receiving automatic 3% pay increases, starting in 2024.

In a special meeting Tuesday evening, the board said it was halting the 3% pay increases that were first instituted in 2001. Exceptions were made for the sheriff, recorder of deeds and controller. Their 3% pay increases will stop in January 2026.

Commissioner Diana Irey Vaughan explained that they would continue to receive the increases until 2026 because those officials did not receive increases in 2021 because commissioners cannot set salaries in years those officials are running for election. Continuing the increases until 2026 offers “an allowance for them to catch up,” Irey Vaughan said.

Starting in January 2024, the salaries of commissioners will be set at $105,735 per year, and the salaries of county officers will be fixed at $98,837. The salaries of the sheriff, controller and recorder of deeds will be set at $98,837 in January 2026.

Commissioner Nick Sherman said eliminating the automatic pay increases is “a bold step toward taxpayer accountability.” He also said it’s important that the county institute “fiscally conservative policies.”

“As elected officials, we should be evaluated by the taxpayer each election based on our performance and not rely on automatic pay increases. The voters are our bosses and should decide when a pay raise is warranted.”

Eliminating the automatic pay increases was fiercely criticized by James Roman, the county’s register of wills and clerk of orphans court. Roman has frequently been at odds with commissioners, and he characterized doing away with the 3% pay raises as a stunt in advance of an election year.

“It’s a joke, a mockery and a marketing ploy,” Roman said.