Adair County reinstates compensation board

The Adair County’s board of supervisors unanimously passed a resolution to reinstate the county compensation board during a meeting Wednesday, July 10.

The seven-person board meets at the end of every calendar year to research and develop recommendations to give the supervisors before they set pay for elected officials. Each elected official has one member assigned to the board and the supervisors have two.

The reason the group needed to be reinstated is that due to state legislative action this year, compensation boards are left up to each county’s descretion. As a result, the compensation board in Adair County dissolved July 1.

The two options presented to the supervisors by Adair County Auditor Mandy Berg were that the supervisors act as the compensation board or they reinstate the compensation board by resolution. A caveat to the second option is that the supervisors can set the number of individuals on the board, if they want.

Supervisors who spoke up during the discussion said they appreciated the third-party buffer that the group gives in determining salaries. They also appreciate the research and hard work the compensation has put into their work through the years, even if the supervisors don’t exactly follow their recommendation.

As part of their resolution, they decided to remain with a seven-member compensation board.

Lots have been drawn, as part of the resolution for the new compensation board, for how long terms last to start.