CACHE COUNTY – The members of the Cache County Council are scheduled to hold a public hearing on proposed adjustments to the salaries of certain county elected officials at their regular meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 26.
The hearing is set for 5:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Cache County Historic Courthouse.
The issue is likely to be controversial, given that competitive pay hikes are one of the reasons cited for the proposed 20 percent tax increase that council members are weighing for the county budget in calendar year 2025.
County officials are contemplating the adoption of a budget for 2025 of more than $107.6 million, plus a budget of more than $517,200 for the Logan-Cache Airport Authority.
That budget has yet to be finalized, however.
In a Nov. 12 public hearing on the proposed tax increase, Council Chair David L. Erickson expressed hope that budget cuts and other economies could be found that would make the tax increase less onerous for county residents.
Around this time last year, the members of the Cache County Council voted unanimously to grant end-of-year bonuses to full-time and part-time employees of the county.
Under Resolution 2023-24, the county council approved bonuses in the amount of $379 for full-time employees and $189 for part-time employees, subject to regular taxes and withholding.
Prior to that vote, the council members ensured that elected officials — including themselves — were not included in the bonus packages.
The council members were even less generous to themselves when it came to approving cost of living adjustments for the salaries of elected officials for the calendar year 2024.
While granting approval of cost-of-living adjustments averaging about 6 percent to the salaries of seven elected officials, the council members first amended Resolution 2023-39 to hold their own salaries to 2023 levels without any cost-of-living adjustments.
By unanimously passing that resolution, council members agreed to forego a salary increase of $1,440 in 2024, a jump from $24,000 to $25,440 recommended by the county’s compensation committee, while Erickson gave up a $1,800 pay bump, with his proposed salary increasing from $30,000 to $31,800.
The proposed 20 percent property tax increase for 2025 is expected to result in additional revenues of more than $3.5 million, which council members say is needed to meet the costs of competitive wage increases, additional staffing and infrastructure projects, as well as the inflationary costs of goods.
In approved, the proposed increase would raise property taxes on an average $528,000 residence from $318.86 to $382.62, an increase of $63.76 per year.
The proposed increase on a $528,000 business would be $115.92 per year, from $579.74 to $695.66 per year.
The Cache County Historic Courthouse is located at 199 North Main Street in Logan.