Panel Rejects County Judge Raise

— Benton County’s Personnel Committee on Thursday rebuffed a request for a raise from County Judge Bob Clinard.

The committee voted 3-1 against sending Clinard’s request for a raise on to the Quorum Court’s Finance Committee. Justice of the Peace Tom Allen voted in favor of forwarding the request on while Justices of the Peace Shirley Sandlin, Jay Harrison and Barry Moehring voted against it. Moehring said he wanted to consider any raise for the county judge in the context of raises for other elected officials, employees and the overall budget.

At A Glance

Staff Reorganization

The Benton County’s Personnel Committee voted to send staff reorganization requests to the Finance Committee.

• Sheriff Kelley Cradduck’s proposed reorganization of the Benton County Sheriff’s Office and jail staff.

• Shifting John Sudduth to general services administrator, increasing his salary and the salary of Scott Stober, public services administrator, to $63,500 per year and creating a staff assistant position for general services administrator.

• Deleting the properties coordinator position and transferring duties to the grants administrator and accounting manager, with a pay increase for the grants administrator from $43,568 to $50,000 and an increase for the accounting manager from $55,734 to $60,000.

• Changing a bridge crew foreman position in the Road Department to an assistant superintendent position with a $5,886 salary increase.

Source: Staff Report

“I’m going to vote ‘no’ on this,” Moehring said. “It has nothing to do with the job the judge has done. I think we need to look at this in a more comprehensive way.”

Clinard asked the panel to consider increasing his salary by $12,000, from $84,731 to $96,731.

“I feel kind of like a money-grubber coming up here asking you for a raise but I think I’ve earned it,” Clinard said.

Clinard pointed to annual savings of $156,258 the county has realized since he took office through moving county offices from leased office space to county-owned buildings, a reduction in an annual contract for fire alarm testing from $24,000 to $12,000, having the accounting department file for rebates in sales tax for purchase of $2,500 or more, which Clinard projected will save up to $60,000 a year, and reorganizations in administrative staff he projected will save the county $76,395 per year.

Clinard added to that savings in various construction projects achieved due to his background in construction and said the county realized about $541,608.

Barb Ludwig, human resources director, said the county pays its county judge less than both Washington and Pulaski counties, which are the only other Class 7 counties in Arkansas. Counties in the state are classified based on their population. She said mayors of the larger cities in the county typically have salaries that start at about $115,000.

Allen said he was bothered by the timing of the request, with the county having just completed its budget process, but he didn’t think that should be a deciding factor.

“It’s January and you didn’t think of this just last week,” he said. Typically, every year we have a mid-year look at raises so this is a little bit unusual. That being said, I have been a proponent of the idea that a position should be paid what the position is worth. If it needs to be corrected, it needs to be corrected.”

Moehring said he wanted any raises to be part of an overall review and decision.

“I’m concerned about the effect on other elected officials,” he said “I’m concerned about doing this piecemeal. It’s gong to have huge ramifications for other elected officials and also for our county employees.”

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