FAYETTEVILLE -- Justices of the peace failed to gain enough traction to pass a $8,606 salary increase for Washington County Attorney Brian Lester to get a second reading during Thursday's meeting.
The court read and passed the first reading of an ordinance to change the salary to roughly $79,000 from $72,450 for this year. The ordinance needs three readings and will come up again at next month's Quorum Court meeting, justices of the peace said.
Jail reimbursement
The Washington County Quorum Court approved Thursday asking the state to reimburse counties for the cost of housing and caring for state inmates at the Detention Center. The state pays $30 per day per inmate but the cost for housing is $68, according to the county.
Source: Washington County Quorum Court
County Judge Joseph Wood said Thursday he agreed to raise Lester's pay last year. Lester's pay should have been listed as $76,300 in the 2018 budget, plus a 3-percent pay raise added to it, Wood said. The $76,300 was the salary approved by the Quorum Court in 2016, but Lester was hired last year at $70,000.
The Quorum Court approved the 3-percent pay raise for employees last year.
Justice of the Peace Robert Dennis, a Republican representing Farmington, said the pay change for Lester is fair and comparable to similar attorney positions.
"I'm good with it," Dennis said about the salary change.
Lester told justices of the peace on Monday he also wanted back pay for 2017, but that wasn't acted on Thursday. But, most justices of the peace supported the 2018 salary change with eight voting in favor, four against, one abstaining and two absent.
The measure needed 10 affirmative votes to get a second reading Thursday.
Several justices of the peace said they feel misled. Lester had said the court was fixing a "mistake" but that doesn't seem to be the case, they said.
"I'm convinced now that no error was made by the Quorum Court," said Justice of the Peace Sue Madison, a Democrat who represents southeastern Fayetteville.
"It's changed from a mistake to a raise, effectively," said Joel Maxwell, a Republican representing western Washington County.
Justice of the Peace Eva Madison, a Democrat representing northeastern Fayetteville, said the Quorum Court approved the $76,000 for the position in 2016, when Zega was county attorney. The raise considered Zega's experience, Madison said.
Zega started as county attorney in 2015.
"I just want things to be on the up and up," Madison said.
Wood and Lester said Thursday Lester's pay was off because the county simultaneously paid him and Zega during most of January. Wood terminated Zega when Wood took office, and Lester was hired in Zega's place. Zega's pay overlapped with Lester because Zega filed a grievance against Wood.
The grievance kept Zega's pay coming until a committee could hear his case. A committee found in favor of Zega, but Wood didn't rehire him.
A lawsuit linked to Wood's hiring practices when he first took office is ongoing.
NW News on 02/16/2018