Some elected officials got 10 percent pay raises
State budget bill leaves others waiting until next year for a salary boost
Adam Friedrick
MEDINA – Most county and township elected officials in Medina County got 10 percent pay raises this year, but not all of them.
For instance, County Commissioners Pat Geissman and Bill Hutson will both be paid $72,346 this year. However, the pay of County Commissioner Adam Friedrick remains at $65,620, the same amount he earned last year.
County Auditor Mike Kovack is in a situation like Friedrick’s. He, too, is going without a pay raise this year and will earn $76,754 for his labors this year, the same amount he earned in 2016.
The raises for other elected officials in Medina County are their first since 2008. The Ohio General Assembly included the raises in a 2015 budget bill, giving officials 5 percent raises in 2016 and 2017. But state law prevents most officials from getting raises in their term, so they received the cumulative raise when they took office after being elected or re-elected.
Those who are getting the raises this year were elected or re-elected to new terms last year. Friedrick and Kovack, however, were last elected prior to the passage of the 2015 budget bill and will not get the raises unless they are re-elected next year.
The rules regarding raises for judges, however, are less restrictive. Pay for judges was raised 5 percent starting in September of 2015 and they are scheduled to receive 5 percent pay raises each year after that until 2020. Sheriffs and county prosecutors are also scheduled for additional 5 percent raises in 2018 and 2019.
However, the raises for judges are paid for with state funds, not by county taxpayers. The 2018 and 2019 raises for sheriffs and prosecutors will also come out of state funds.
The highest paid elected officials in Medina County this year are the four county judges who are each scheduled to earn $133,850 this year. All but $14,000 of that annual salary is paid by the state, however.
The state pays about half the salaries for the municipal court judges in Medina and Wadsworth who are both scheduled to earn $125,850 this year.
The Medina County Auditor’s Office provided the following list of 2017 salaries for elected county officials:
• Commissioner Adam Friedrick – $65,620
• Commissioner Pat Geissman – $72,346
• Commissioner Bill Hutson – $72,346
• Auditor Mike Kovack – $76,754
• Clerk of Courts Dave Wadsworth – $67,525
• Coroner Lisa Deranek – $56,458
• Recorder Colleen Swedyk – $63,098
• Prosecutor Forrest Thompson – $127,563
• Engineer Andy Conrad – $104,950
• Sheriff Tom Miller – $92,186
• Treasurer John Burke – $67,525
• Judge Joyce Kimbler – $133,850
• Judge Chris Collier – $133,850
• Judge Kevin Dunn – $133,850
• Judge Mary Kovack – $133,850.
Because of House Bill 64, some elected township officials got a 5 percent increase in pay beginning in 2016. However, only those township officials elected or appointed after Sept. 29, 2015 are entitled to the increase. Newly appointed or elected trustees were eligible for the increase as of Jan. 1, 2016, and newly appointed or elected fiscal officers were eligible for the raise as of April 1, 2016.
The 2017 pay scale for township fiscal officers eligible for raises this year varies with the size of the township. It begins at $10,918 for townships with annual budgets of $250,000 or less. The annual pay climbs to $31,064 for fiscal officers in townships with annual budges greater than $10 million. The annual budgets for most townships in Medina County fall somewhere in between and fiscal officers in those townships earn between $14,000 and $21,000 per year.
The pay for township trustees around Medina County is a little less than their fiscal officers receive. It ranges between approximately $8,000 and $12,000 per year.
For instance, County Commissioners Pat Geissman and Bill Hutson will both be paid $72,346 this year. However, the pay of County Commissioner Adam Friedrick remains at $65,620, the same amount he earned last year.
County Auditor Mike Kovack is in a situation like Friedrick’s. He, too, is going without a pay raise this year and will earn $76,754 for his labors this year, the same amount he earned in 2016.
The raises for other elected officials in Medina County are their first since 2008. The Ohio General Assembly included the raises in a 2015 budget bill, giving officials 5 percent raises in 2016 and 2017. But state law prevents most officials from getting raises in their term, so they received the cumulative raise when they took office after being elected or re-elected.
Those who are getting the raises this year were elected or re-elected to new terms last year. Friedrick and Kovack, however, were last elected prior to the passage of the 2015 budget bill and will not get the raises unless they are re-elected next year.
The rules regarding raises for judges, however, are less restrictive. Pay for judges was raised 5 percent starting in September of 2015 and they are scheduled to receive 5 percent pay raises each year after that until 2020. Sheriffs and county prosecutors are also scheduled for additional 5 percent raises in 2018 and 2019.
However, the raises for judges are paid for with state funds, not by county taxpayers. The 2018 and 2019 raises for sheriffs and prosecutors will also come out of state funds.
The highest paid elected officials in Medina County this year are the four county judges who are each scheduled to earn $133,850 this year. All but $14,000 of that annual salary is paid by the state, however.
The state pays about half the salaries for the municipal court judges in Medina and Wadsworth who are both scheduled to earn $125,850 this year.
The Medina County Auditor’s Office provided the following list of 2017 salaries for elected county officials:
• Commissioner Adam Friedrick – $65,620
• Commissioner Pat Geissman – $72,346
• Commissioner Bill Hutson – $72,346
• Auditor Mike Kovack – $76,754
• Clerk of Courts Dave Wadsworth – $67,525
• Coroner Lisa Deranek – $56,458
• Recorder Colleen Swedyk – $63,098
• Prosecutor Forrest Thompson – $127,563
• Engineer Andy Conrad – $104,950
• Sheriff Tom Miller – $92,186
• Treasurer John Burke – $67,525
• Judge Joyce Kimbler – $133,850
• Judge Chris Collier – $133,850
• Judge Kevin Dunn – $133,850
• Judge Mary Kovack – $133,850.
Because of House Bill 64, some elected township officials got a 5 percent increase in pay beginning in 2016. However, only those township officials elected or appointed after Sept. 29, 2015 are entitled to the increase. Newly appointed or elected trustees were eligible for the increase as of Jan. 1, 2016, and newly appointed or elected fiscal officers were eligible for the raise as of April 1, 2016.
The 2017 pay scale for township fiscal officers eligible for raises this year varies with the size of the township. It begins at $10,918 for townships with annual budgets of $250,000 or less. The annual pay climbs to $31,064 for fiscal officers in townships with annual budges greater than $10 million. The annual budgets for most townships in Medina County fall somewhere in between and fiscal officers in those townships earn between $14,000 and $21,000 per year.
The pay for township trustees around Medina County is a little less than their fiscal officers receive. It ranges between approximately $8,000 and $12,000 per year.