The McCracken County Fiscal Court chose Monday to not to increase the gross salary budget for the county clerk’s office. The office originally asked for more than $920,000 in salaries as a part of a $20 million budget.
Before ruling, the Court compared salaries in similar offices around the state. Judge-Executive Van Newberry concluded the employees in question received higher incomes than those in counties of comparable size.
County Deputy Clerk Lyne Dickey did her own research, comparing revenues to clerk salaries in 97 counties across the state. She says McCracken’s clerks made fair incomes, given their levels of experience.
The court ultimately voted to keep the department’s salary budget at more than $870,000, a decision Newberry supports.
“What they requested was certainly a very high percentage," he said. "Plus, they’re making about $10,000 more a year on average than the other 26 people in the county that do very similar work. It wasn’t fair.”
This vote comes less than a week after an appellate court dismissed a lawsuit filed by County Clerk Jeff Jerrell. The lawsuit protested a Fiscal Court ordinance allowing the Court to examine the County Clerk’s expenditures.
