Salary For Next Sheriff Stable For Now

Spokane County commissioners will wait until early next year to officially lower the salary of the next sheriff.

Commissioners John Roskelley and Kate McCaslin made it clear Tuesday that Sheriff John Goldman’s replacement will earn $82,000, rather than the $90,000 the county pays Goldman.

On Tuesday, those two commissioners voted to cut the sheriff’s pay effective Jan. 1, 1999. They rescinded that vote when Commissioner Phil Harris argued they had not followed proper procedure.

Harris said that before commissioners can cut the sheriff’s wages they must revoke a wage freeze put in place last year. They couldn’t vote to eliminate the freeze Tuesday because that action hadn’t been put on the agenda and advertised.

The next commissioners’ meeting isn’t until Jan. 6. Commissioners will decide then whether to drop the wage freeze and cut the sheriff’s pay.

A survey of similarly sized Washington counties showed that Goldman earns more than most of his peers, but also has more responsibilities. The county’s personnel department recommended that the next sheriff earn $82,000. That’s less than is earned by the two undersheriffs.

State law prohibits commissioners from cutting the wages of other elected officials during the current term.

Goldman, who announced in October that he won’t seek re-election next year, opposes the pay cut. The county must pay well to attract the best candidates, he said Monday.

, DataTimes