ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, June 13, 1996 TAG: 9606130037
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHRISTINA NUCKOLS STAFF WRITER
Roanoke County Supervisors edged away from a proposed 5 percent raise for board members, knocking the increase to 4 percent in preparation for a June 25 public hearing on budget issues.
Supervisors traditionally have received the same raise as the county's other 730 employees. Last year, the across-the-board raise was 5 percent. In 1994, it was 4 percent, and the two previous years each saw increases of 3 percent.
This year, the board approved a 5 percent increase in payroll expenditures. However, a half-percent of that - about $250,000 - will be used for salary adjustments for some groups of county employees whose pay, according to a recent salary survey, lag behind that for similar positions in local governments of about the same size as Roanoke County.
County employees not affected by the adjustments will receive raises ranging from 2 percent to 6 percent, based on performance, according to Budget Director Brent Robertson.
Although supervisors' raises were originally set at 5 percent, based on the payroll increase, Windsor Hills Supervisor Lee Eddy noted that the average county employee will receive a 4 percent raise this year. He proposed that the figure be adjusted for board members, and the board agreed in a unanimous vote. The issue must be voted on once more after a public hearing, scheduled for the supervisors' 7 p.m. session June 25.
Supervisors also decided that County Administrator Elmer Hodge would receive a 4 percent increase in his retirement benefits in lieu of a salary increase. Hodge's salary will remain at $105,749.
Supervisors now receive a base salary of $10,690. The proposed 4 percent raise would boost base salaries to $11,117.60. The total cost to taxpayers would be $2,138, or $427.60 per supervisor.
Chairman Bob Johnson gets an extra $1,800 and Vice Chairman Harry Nickens an additional $1,200 over the base salary. Those amounts are not included when calculating the salary increases.
(Roanoke City Council also is considering beefing up its pay. Under the current proposal, Mayor David Bowers would receive a 20 percent raise, to $18,000, while other council members would each get a 7.7 percent increase to $14,000.
City council members have not received a raise since 1990. The mayor's salary has remained at $15,000 since 1987.)I would cut these graphs re: Rke city, as this story is abouty the county. The city figures can be addressed in another story. They don't seem relevant here.... pls. advise....sw
In addition to the hearing on board compensation, supervisors will hear public comment June 25 on proposed changes to the business, professional and occupational license tax. Based on action this year by the General Assembly, businesses with less than $100,000 in gross receipts annually are exempt from the tax. However, the county will instead charge a $50 license fee, which also will be levied on larger businesses on top of their regular BPOL tax.
In addition, two categories of businesses will see a rate increase under the current proposal. The rate for finance, real estate and professional services will rise from 50 cents to 58 cents per $100 in gross receipts. For repair, personal and business services, it will increase from 34 cents to 36 cents per $100 in gross receipts.
Under the changes, 2,751 businesses in the county will pay 25 cents to $50 extra annually. Another 2,732 businesses will pay less under the new tax structure.
The changes were made to maintain BPOL revenues at the same level as this year's, which will be $3.2million, not counting collections for delinquencies.
Nickens criticized other board members for voting to approve the budget, which assumes BPOL revenues will remain the same, before the public hearing on the tax changes. The Salem-Roanoke County Chamber of Commerce had requested that supervisors delay a preliminary vote on BPOL this week. Supervisors went ahead with the vote Tuesday, unanimously approving the tax changes, but indicated they could reverse their decision after the public hearing.
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