Gwinnett County commissioners may give themselves a 51 percent raise next month – their first pay hike since 2009.
At a meeting Monday, commissioners said they will consider raising their base salaries from $29,800 to $45,000 to bring their pay in line with what commissioners in other Metro Atlanta counties earn. Chairman Charlotte Nash’s pay would remain unchanged at $58,342.
The raise would not take effect until January 2017 – after this year’s elections. A vote on the raise likely will come March 1.
Nash said the raise is needed to ensure the county can continue to attract qualified people to serve as district commissioners. Though technically part-time, she said commissioners often work full-time hours for the public and forego earning more in the private sector.
“Part-time is a misnomer for most folks who serve as district commissioners,” she said.
Nash cited pay for other Metro Atlanta county commissioners. The pay for Fulton County commissioners ranges from $41,248 to $44,342, depending on how long they’ve served. Cobb commissioners make $43,860 to $44,095, while DeKalb commissioners earn $38,374 to $42,757.
The last time Gwinnett commissioners voted to raise their own pay was January 2007, when they doubled the salaries of district commissioners but did not give the chairman a raise. That raise took effect in 2009. Before that, commissioners had not had a raise since 1989.
The proposed pay hike would cost about $85,000 in 2017, including the cost of benefits tied to salary. Though they could not approve a higher raise than the one they plan to advertise, commissioners could approve a smaller raise. Commissioner Jace Brooks suggested a $42,500 salary as another option, saying that would be in line with what other area commissioners make.
The proposal comes as the county is finally putting the tight budgets of the Great Recession behind it. After five years without a raise, Gwinnett employees got a 3 percent across-the-board raise in 2014. They received 4 percent performance-based raises in 2015 and 2016.
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