Introduced Version
Senate Bill 519 History
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Senate Bill No. 519
(By Senator Barnes)
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[Introduced March 13, 2013; referred to the Committee on
Government Organization; and then to the Committee on Finance .]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §7-7-4 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to providing county commissioners
an ongoing mechanism to consider compensation increases for
elected officials every two years; and proportionate increase
to county employees.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §7-7-4 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be
amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 7. COMPENSATION OF ELECTED COUNTY OFFICIALS.
§7-7-4. Compensation of elected county officials, county employees
and county commissioners for each class of county;
effective date.
(1) The increased salaries to be paid to the county
commissioners and the other elected county officials described in this subsection on and after July 1, 2006, are set out in
subdivisions (5) and (7) of this subsection. Every county
commissioner and elected county official in each county whose term
of office commenced prior to or on or after July 1, 2006, shall
receive the same annual salary by virtue of legislative findings of
extra duties as set forth in section one of this article.
(2) Before the increased salaries, as set out in subdivisions
(5) and (7) of this subsection, are paid to the county
commissioners and the elected county officials, the following
requirements must be met:
(A) The Auditor has certified that the proposed annual county
budget for the fiscal year beginning the first days of July, 2006,
has increased over the previous fiscal year in an amount sufficient
for the payment of the increase in the salaries, set out in
subdivisions (5) and (7) of this subsection, and the related
employment taxes. Provided, That The Auditor may not approve the
budget certification for any a proposed annual county budget
containing anticipated receipts which are unreasonably greater or
lesser than that of the previous year. For purposes of this
subdivision, the term "receipts" does not include unencumbered fund
balance or federal or state grants; and
(B) Each county commissioner or other elected official
described in this subsection in office on the effective date of the
increased salaries provided by this subsection who desires to receive the increased salary has prior to that date filed in the
office of the clerk of the county commission his or her written
agreement to accept the salary increase. The salary for the person
who holds the office of county commissioner or other elected
official described in this subsection who fails to file the written
agreement as required by this paragraph shall be is the salary for
that office in effect immediately prior to the effective date of
the increased salaries provided by this subsection until the person
vacates the office or his or her term of office expires, whichever
first occurs.
(3) If there is an insufficient projected increase in revenues
to pay the increased salaries and the related employment taxes,
then the salaries of that county's elected officials and
commissioners shall remain at the level in effect at the time
certification was sought.
(4) In any a county having a tribunal in lieu of a county
commission, the county commissioners of that county may be paid
less than the minimum salary limits of the county commission for
that particular class of the county.
(5)COUNTY COMMISSIONERS.
Class I$36,960
Class II$36,300
Class III$35,640
Class IV$34,980
Class V$34,320
Class VI$28,380
Class VII$27,720
Class VIII$25,080
Class IX$24,420
Class X$19,800
(6) For the purpose of determining the salaries to be paid to
the elected county officials of each county, the salaries for each
county office by class, set out in subdivision (7) of this
subsection, are established and shall be used by each county
commission in determining the salaries of each of their county
officials other than salaries of members of the county commission.
(7) OTHER ELECTED OFFICIALS.
CountyCircuit Prosecuting
SheriffClerkClerk AssessorAttorney
Class I$44,880 $55,440 $55,440 $44,880$ 96,600
Class II$44,220$54,780 $54,780 $44,220 $ 94,400
Class III$43,890$53,460$53,460 $43,890 $ 92,200
Class IV$43,560$53,154 $53,154 $43,560 $ 90,000
Class V$43,230$52,800 $52,800 $43,230 $ 87,800
Class VI$42,900$49,500 $49,500 $42,900 $ 59,400
Class VII$42,570$48,840 $48,840 $42,570 $ 56,760
Class VIII$42,240$48,180 $48,180 $42,240 $ 54,120
Class IX$41,910$47,520 $47,520 $41,910 $ 50,160
Class X$38,280$42,240 $42,240 $38,280 $ 46,200
(8) Any A county clerk, circuit clerk, county assessor or
sheriff of a Class I through Class V county, inclusive, any
and an
assessor or any a sheriff of a Class VI through Class IX county,
inclusive, shall devote full-time to his or her public duties to
the exclusion of any other employment. Provided, That any A public
official, however, whose term of office begins when his or her
county's classification imposes no restriction on his or her
outside activities, may not be restricted on his or her outside
activities during the remainder of the term for which he or she is
elected.
(9) On March 1, 2015, and each second year thereafter, the
county commission of each county shall review the annual Consumer
Price Index published by the United States Department of Commerce
and determine if the proposed annual county budget for the fiscal
year beginning July 1, 2015, has increased over the previous fiscal
year in an amount sufficient for the payment of an increase in the
salaries and the related employment taxes of the county
commissioners and other elected county officials in an amount up to
the increase in the Consumer Price Indices over the prior two years
or three percent, whichever is greater.
__(10) If the proposed annual county budget for the fiscal year
beginning July 1, 2015, has increased over the previous fiscal year in an amount sufficient for the payment of an increase in the
salaries and the related employment taxes of the county
commissioners and other elected county officials in an amount up to
the increase in the Consumer Price Index or three percent,
whichever is greater, then the county commission may fix the salary
of the county commissioners and the other elected county officials
at an annual rate of salary to which the county official is
entitled pursuant to the salary schedules contained in this section
including an increase up to the increase in Consumer Price Index or
three percent, whichever is greater, as determined by the county
commission.
__(11) Before the increased salaries are paid to the county
commissioners and the elected county officials, the following
requirements must be met:
__(A) The Auditor has certified that the proposed annual county
budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2015, has increased
over the previous fiscal year in an amount sufficient for the
payment of the increase in the salaries, and related employment
taxes. The Auditor may not approve the budget certification for a
proposed annual county budget containing anticipated receipts which
are unreasonably greater or lesser than that of the previous year.
For purposes of this subdivision, the term "receipts" does not
include unencumbered fund balance or federal or state grants; and
__(B) Each county commissioner or other elected official described in this subsection in office on the effective date of the
increased salaries provided by this subsection who desires to
receive the increased salary has prior to that date filed in the
office of the clerk of the county commission his or her written
agreement to accept the salary increase. The salary for the person
who holds the office of county commissioner or other elected
official described in this subsection who fails to file the written
agreement as required by this paragraph is the salary for that
office in effect immediately prior to the effective date of the
increased salaries provided by this subsection until the person
vacates the office or his or her term of office expires, whichever
first occurs.
__(12) If there is an insufficient projected increase in
revenues to pay the increased salaries and the related employment
taxes, the salaries of that county's elected officials and
commissioners remain at the level in effect at the time
certification was sought.
__(13) In a county having a tribunal in lieu of a county
commission, the county commissioners of that county may be paid
less than the minimum salary limits of the county commission for
that particular class of the county.
__(14) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section or any
other provision of this code to the contrary, salary increases may
not be provided to elected county officials unless county employees are given an equal or greater rate of increase in wages
simultaneous with the increase to county officials.
__NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide county
commissioners an ongoing mechanism to consider compensation
increases for elected county officials every two years in an amount
up to the increase in the annual Consumer Price Index published by
the United States Department of Commerce over the prior two years
or three percent, whichever is greater, contingent upon county
employees receiving an equal or greater proportionate increase in
wages.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.