The Marshall County Council has put the finishing touches on a pay raise for Highway Supervisor Jason Peters. Last month, council members voted to raise his salary to just over $57,000, retroactive to January 1.
Peters has taken on additional responsibilities this year, following the retirement of Highway Administrator Laurie Baker. County officials have been looking to replace her old position with a new highway engineer, but so far, no one’s been hired.
On Monday, council members voted to transfer $12,000 that had been budgeted for highway administrator wages, to cover the pay increase for Peters. They also officially updated the salary ordinance to reflect the change.
The pay raise was initially part of a proposal to make Peters the interim highway superintendent. The county commissioners haven’t approved the change in job title, but the council went ahead with the raise anyway. The question of what happens to the highway supervisor’s salary if the commissioners do end up hiring a highway engineer has not been resolved.
Money for a highway engineer was one of the items up for consideration, during the council’s budget talks on Monday. Council members generally agreed to budget $65,000 for the engineer’s salary next year, down from a previous proposal of $85,000, although Council President Judy Stone suggested eliminating it entirely.
