Two years ago, the State of Iowa made a change to counties having Compensation Boards. The Compensation Board is made up of one representative per elected official and two representatives for the board of supervisors. This board then does research and recommends raises for the upcoming fiscal year.
Now, each county may choose whether or not they have a Compensation Board. On Monday, November 24 in a 3-0 vote, the Taylor County Board of Supervisors approved to do away with the
Compensation Board. This can be voted on each year. Last year Taylor County voted to keep the Compensation Board. Department Heads, Auditor Judy Henry, Treasurer Dana Davis and Sheriff
Josh Weed were all in attendance for the meeting. Henry and Davis both felt that the department heads could do an effective job of representing themselves and their staff when it comes to raises. They each do research on counties of comparable size to Taylor County to see what their salaries are and what kind of raises they get each year.
With doing away with the Compensation Board, the board of supervisors can be selective on raises if they wish. Some counties are starting to use this formula. Auditor Henry said that it is about 50/50 with how many counties kept their Compensation Boards this year and how many didn’t.
