Re: mayor's pay raise

[Dan and Martha Schmidt <schmidt6@turbonet.com>]

This was sent to LMT and DN, forwarded to V2020 since the discussion has 
bounced about here.
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         There's been a lot of discussion about the Moscow mayor's salary 
recently.  I write this to try to head off any heat should someone start 
looking my direction.

         For the past two years I have asked the Latah County commissioners 
for a 10 percent increase in salary and budget for the coroner's 
office.  They have agreed.  The budget presentation (with copies of 
statewide data and tables and comparisons) was open to the public and 
press.  There were donuts.  Since no one was there and no reporter culled 
the public record for this hot topic, I use this forum to bring your 
attention to this action.  Maybe it will avert a public outcry.

         Idaho's counties budget quite a range for their coroners.  Of 
course, counties vary quite a bit in population.  Latah County had the 
lowest cost per county resident.  The average for the state was around 
$1.10 per resident.  Latah County was at 43 cents.  While I am proud of 
providing the service to the public at a low-cost, it is unreasonable to 
expect the office can continue to provide appropriate service at these 
levels.  So, rather than just asking to double the budget I told the 
commissioners I would be asking for a 10 percent increase each year until 
the office budget was up to about the state average.  It's going to take 
another three or four years.

         The coroner salary was also increased 10 percent.  It is now up to 
about $5000 a year. While this may seem like small potatoes, the figures 
could be seen as a similar magnitude to the mayor's.  I am hoping the 
electorate is not too outraged by my salary increases.  Public scrutiny can 
be painful.  Still, I welcome a discussion about this if you want to give 
me a call. Once a year there are free donuts with the Commissioners, 
tax-supported of course.


                                         Dan Schmidt
                                         Latah County Coroner