Gwinnett County Commissioners, l-r: Jace Brooks, District 1; Ben Ku, District 2; Charlotte J. Nash, chairman; Tommy Hunter, District 3; and Marlene Fosque, District 4.
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
DEC. 13, 2019 | There is one key subject the Gwinnett delegation to the General Assembly should address come January 1. They need to agree on a significant upgrade of pay for the chairman of the Gwinnett County Commission.
The current salary of the chairman, Charlotte Nash, is $58,342. That salary should have been changed ages ago. It is inadequate for a person who heads a government with 5,000 employees.
And remember: the Gwinnett County operating and capital budget for 2020 is $1.83 billion. Just think of what the pay of a CEO of a company that size would be! Certainly not $58,342.
Ask yourself: does it make sense to pay our highest elected official $58,342 when that person is administering a big—nearly $2 billion — budget?
Another question: do you want a person seeking the office of chairman who only yearns to make $58,342? If that low salary is attractive to them, they have not had positions or responsibilities in the past that would qualify them for the office.
Of course, those six people currently candidates in next year’s election for this office must see ways that they can live off that meager compensation. Most probably anticipate having outside means of support, and do not have to rely on that low salary to live. But that should not be.
Gwinnett County should pay a decent salary to its full-time chairman. After all, they already recognize the legitimacy of paying a decent salary to its County Administrator. That salary is $318,834 annually. And technically, the administrator works for the chairman and its commission, and the chairman only makes $58,342! Something’s out of kilter!
Take a look at what other Metro Atlanta commission chairmen make:
- Fulton County *
- Cobb County: $135,124
- DeKalb County *
- Clayton County: $156,655
- Forsyth County *
Meanwhile Gwinnett County’s four district commissioners are paid $45,000 annually. These are considered part time jobs.
When drawing a new salary bill, our Gwinnett delegation need a provision in the coming legislation that would pay the commission chairman and its members adequate salaries in the future. One way might be to tie the board member’s salary to some plan that would rise with inflation.
For instance, the base pay is set by statute for Georgia Superior Court justices is $128,790. Gwinnett County, since it has treatment courts (for drug, DUI, mental health and veterans courts) pays an additional $6,000 to its judges. It also pays Superior Court judges a supplement of $52,670. That means each Superior Court judge makes $187,460.
One possible suggestion would tie the commission’s salaries to that of the state Superior judges, which gets periodic review by the Legislature. That would give routine increases for the chairman tied to the judge’s salaries.
Whatever the method, the pay scale for the county commission chairman and the board members needs serious attention. We look to the leadership of the Gwinnett legislative delegation to recognize this, and move to solve the problem during the next session of the Legislature. That way when the new chairman takes office on January 1, 2021, that person will be paid a reasonable compensation.
Realizing the seriousness of the pay of the county chairman, GwinnettForum adds to its List of Continuing Objectives (see at bottom right) “21st Century Salary for the Gwinnett County Commission Members.” We urge the Gwinnett legislative delegation to make this their number one priority to pass this new pay rate to begin in January, 2021.
* Note that we don’t list three county chairs’ salaries, though we have been seeking this information through the different counties for over a week. Some governments are easier to work with than others!–eeb
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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