A consultant says Winneshiek County officials are underpaid

Are Winneshiek County's governmental officials getting paid less money than they should be?

That's the conclusion of a study done by consultant Paul Greufe.  The study is being cited as a reason to increase the salaries of several county officials.

For instance, Winneshiek County elected officials are getting a six percent pay raise approved by the members of the Compensation Board--Ron Stoskopf, Mike Haluska, Al Etteldorf, Jim Burns, Vic Pinckney, Nina Taylor and Dennis Hovden.

Greufe's study compared Winneshiek County to 20 similar counties, such as Bremer, Clayton, Fayette, Washington and Buchanan.  His study found Winneshiek County was 15th in pay for Sheriff; 20th in pay for County Attorney; 16th in pay for Treasurer; 16th in pay for Auditor; 17th in pay for Recorder; and 15th in pay for Supervisor.

As a result, the Sheriff's salary has been raised to $72,874; the County Attorney's salary to $66,152; the County Treasurer's to $56,074; the County Auditor's to $55,643; the County Recorder's to $54,900; and the County Supervisors' to $31,274 each (the County Board Chair will be paid $32,069).

The Compensation Board's recommendation were for elected officials only.  Other Winneshiek County department heads have their salaries set by a board or by county supervisors.

Those new salaries will be County Engineer, $91,291; County Assessor, $67,360; Public Health Director, $63,066; Conservation Director, $61,818; GIS/IT Director, $61,443; Landfill Manager, $58,323; Recycling Manager, $57,180; County Sanitarian, $49,920; Zoning Administrator, $48,922; and Veterans Affairs Administrator, $42,806.

Greufe will meet at 3:30 Thursday afternoon with members of the Winneshiek County Veterans Affairs Committee to explain the process and procedure of the compensation study done for the county.