decorahnews.com analysis: Are Winneshiek County's elected officials getting paid fair salaries? (Part 3)

The Winneshiek County Compensation Board has recommended that Winneshiek County's elected officials--the County Recorder, County Auditor, County Attorney, County Treasurer, County Sheriff and County Supervisors--should get 6 percent pay raises starting July first.

But while the percentage pay raises being given to the elected officials are the same for everyone, the base salaries are not.  In the case of the County Attorney and the County Sheriff, the pay discrepancies are understandable.  But how does the Compensation Board determine the relative pay of the County Auditor, County Recorder and County Treasurer--all of which are basically the same clerical and supervisory jobs?

Of the three positions, the County Treasurer's salary is the highest--$56,074 for this fiscal year.  The County Treasurer's salary is $55,643 a year, while the County Recorder gets paid $54,901 a year.

Fayette County, Bremer County and Buena Vista County are among those counties which pay the same salary for the three positions.  Buchanan County pays the same salary to its Treasurer and Recorder, but gives its Auditor $2,000 a year more.

Interestingly, Marshall County (Marshalltown, Iowa) and Woodbury County (Sioux City, Iowa) do not have County Recorders.  They are the only two counties in Iowa with combined Auditor and Recorder offices.  In both cases, voters approved combining the Auditor and Recorder into one position.