Being a Wake County commissioner could soon pay a lot more. Board considers 132% raise.
Wake County leaders will consider giving themselves a 132% pay raise this year.
It’s needed, they said, to attract quality candidates and to bring the county commissioners’ pay closer to other counties across the country.
If approved, the change would make the Wake commissioners the highest paid in the state by more than $15,000.
“You deserve to be able to take care of yourself and your families,” said Sig Hutchinson, chair of the Wake County Board of Commissioners, during a recent commissioner committee meeting. “If you’re going to do this work and other people are thinking about doing this work [they] need to also know that they’re going to be able to take care of themselves and their family.”
Wake County commissioners are paid $25,288 a year plus $3,000 in travel and vehicle expenses and $300 for technology. That’s a total of $28,588 of compensation annually.
The proposal would bring the annual salary up to $56,784 with a $4,800 allowance for travel and a $1,800 stipend for technology. It would also include $2,839 as a new retirement benefit likely through an annual contribution from the county in a county-administered retirement plan. That’s a total of $66,223 in compensation per year.
Commissioners don’t currently receive any retirement benefits from the county.
Hutchinson’s initiative
In an interview Thursday, Hutchinson estimated he spends 80 hours a week on county commissioner work. The pay increase is his initiative, he said.
“We are the second fastest-growing, large county in the country today, and I would offer we are the best managed and best-run county with the best outcomes in the country today,” Hutchinson said. “Being a commissioner is no longer a part-time job, and if you want people to do this work, and if you want the best people to do this work, you’ve got to pay them.”
The commissioners reviewed compensation options during a recent committee meeting. The options ranged from a 20% increase to a 204% increase and differed on whether to offer a retirement benefit.
“The median household salary in Wake County right now is probably north of $85,000,” said Wake County Commissioner Matt Calabria, during the recent committee meeting. “And so this is not an issue of commissioners enriching themselves, but making adjustments that put them still far below what most residents are bringing home in their own paychecks.”
UNC School of Government study
A 2020 UNC School of Government survey found Wake County was fifth in terms of commissioner salary across the state. County staff sought data from “like counties” across the nation and found “almost every county has a higher commissioner salary” than Wake County. However, the presentation notes there was a low response rate and no information available online about the topic.
“And I think this conversation is really leaving the legacy for others to have the opportunity to do this work (and) for others to serve,” said Commissioner Vice Chair Shinica Thomas.
“I think that we all made the decision [to serve] based on the information that we had, and we still made this decision.,” Thomas said. “So it’s definitely not for us, but it’s so that we can continue to get qualified candidates and people who are going to be innovative and thoughtful and continue the legacies that we’re all starting here.”
There is a rationale for raising the salary, said Commissioner Susan Evans, but she added she wasn’t sure of the public’s appetite for such a move.
“There certainly are other considerations that we have to take into account when we’re thinking about how far we go with this right off the bat,” she said. “I don’t know what the public feelings would be if we jumped ourselves 132%, at one time. I know, it kind of gives me the heebie-jeebies a bit.”
The increase is big, but not compared to the county’s entire budget, said Commissioner Vickie Adamson.
“When you look at our budget, which is a billion and a half dollars, if we were the board of a corporation with a billion and a half dollars, we would comfortably be making well into the six figures, with all the perks that come with that,” she said. “So I don’t think that’s unreasonable.”
This proposal will likely be included in the county manager’s proposed budget, which will be unveiled next week.
The Raleigh City Council has also discussed raising its pay, though no final decisions have been made. The issue could come back up during the city’s budget process later this spring.
This story was originally published April 28, 2022 at 2:11 PM.
