Most of Carbon’s elected officials are in the upper echelons of pay when it comes to comparing their salaries with those same positions in other counties with similar population sizes in eastern, southeastern and central Utah, according to a report issued by the Utah Association of Counties recently.
In a comparison with Uintah, Sanpete, Sevier, Wasatch, San Juan, Duchesne, Millard and Emery counties, the positions of county commissioner, clerk, sheriff, assessor, recorder, and attorney all were ranked fifth or above in remuneration.
The counties reviewed all have populations ranking between 10,000 and 25,000. Amongst those counties Carbon, with a population of 19,858, ranks third in size. The biggest population in the group is Uintah County with 25,984. The smallest in numbers occur in Emery with 10,540.
Carbon Counties commissioners are fifth on the list for pay with salaries of $34,402, along with the sheriff who makes $56,856. In comparison, the highest paid commissioners positions are in Uintah county where the elected officials make $51,887. The highest paid sheriffs position is in Millard where the top lawman receives $60,954 per annum.
The Carbon county attorney is ranked fourth in the report with a paycheck of $77,250 per year. The highest paid county attorney amongst those in the group is in Sevier county where that position pays $90,300.
The only Carbon position with a top ranking in pay in all nine counties reviewed was the county clerks position which pays $55,723 per year. That position in Carbon county fills not only the clerks spot on the payroll, but also that of county auditor as well as the information technology director.
The next highest paid clerk position in the group is in Uintah county where the person holding that job is paid $51,887.
All the other positions in Carbon were ranked third in remuneration and all those positions pay the same amount, $49,749 each per year.
While Carbon’s pay scales are pretty much in line with the size of the county, some counties evaluated in the report remuneration levels are not. For instance Emery county, with by far the smallest population, has positions ranked amongst the middle of the pay rates listed. One position, that of county attorney is second in pay with a salary of $80,989.
Overall, Uintah county has the highest salaries with four positions at the top of the rankings and two in second place. Seemingly out of character for the counties salary range, their attorney is ranked fifth amongst the group with a $75,833 per annum salary.
It is interesting to note that in all cases, county commissioners in all counties make less than every other elected official within their governmental entity, even though they actually set policy, approve budgets and set priorities for the other positions. This is a case of the bosses making less than the employees. However, it is understandable because to be elected to a county commission slot individuals need no formal education or certifications, while all the other positions listed in the report require those kinds of special knowledge, education and training to be accepted in the individual offices.
The counties compared in the study have a lot in common with each other in some ways, but in terms of class (or the how the state views their sizes) five of them, Wasatch, San Juan, Duchesne, Millard and Emery are class four counties.
Uintah, Carbon, Sanpete and Sevier are all considered class three counties.
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