Budget panel OKs raise for Sheriff Gilbertson
From our weekly issue dated April 29, 2009
Sheriff Gilbertson
It looks like Josephine County Sheriff Gil Gilbertson will get a salary raise.
A 4 percent increase for the sheriff was approved by the county’s Budget Committee during its Thursday, April 23 meeting at Anne G. Basker Auditorium in Grants Pass. The committee consists of Commissioners Dwight Ellis, Dave Toler and Sandi Cassanelli; and Larry West, Ron Strom and former county chief administrative officer Marie Hill.
Gilbertson’s raise was recommended by the county’s Elected Officials Compensation Committee, which met on April 15 and 22 at the county courthouse. The committee was comprised of Dick Cottrill, Jeff Wolf, Gail Gasso and Karin Lange, the Human Resources director for the city of Grants Pass.
The Compensation Committee reviewed salary-and-benefits packages for most of the county’s elected officials and compared them with figures from eight other Oregon counties. Based on that review, the committee stated in an April 23 memorandum that most of the elected officials in the county are “currently satisfactorily aligned with their peers in other county organizations, except for the sheriff.”
A 6 percent raise was recommended for Gilbertson, whose current salary is approximately $79,437 per year. The committee also suggested that the annual Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) given to the county’s non-union employees should be extended to elected officials.
During the Budget Committee meeting, Cottrill testified that even a 6 percent raise wouldn’t bring the county’s top-ranking lawman to the average sheriff salary, as determined by the Compensation Committee.
Commissioner Sandi Cassanelli moved to not accept the Compensation Committee’s recommendations, and to freeze elected officials’ wages. That motion failed 4-2, with Cassanelli and Strom voting in favor.
Ellis then moved to freeze COLAs for all elected officials, except for Gilbertson, and give him a 4 percent pay hike.
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Cassanelli said that Gilbertson’s salary was being compared to those of sheriffs from counties that are more fiscally stable. She added that the Board of County Commissioners voted earlier this year for a plan to increase funding for the sheriff’s office, during a time when citizens are struggling financially.
“I don’t think that’s going to fly with the public,” she said.
However, Ellis said that tough economic times cause crime rates to increase, which makes Gilbertson’s job more difficult.
“I believe the sheriff deserves this raise,” Ellis said.
Toler, vice chairman of the Budget Committee, agreed.
“It really is a fairness issue, to some degree,” he said. “There’s quite a disparity among our elected officials.”
Ellis’ motion passed 5-1, with Cassanelli dissenting.
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