ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, February 18, 1997 TAG: 9702180098
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: What's On Your Mind?
SOURCE: RAY REED
Q: What are the top 10 salaries paid to Roanoke County public officials, including administrators, the school system and constitutional officers? I see city officials' salaries in the paper from time to time, but rarely the county's salaries. P.S., Vinton
A: Here are the numbers. For perspective, the top 10 salaries and benefits for Roanoke officials are listed too.
County Administrator Elmer Hodge $105,748; School Superintendent Deanna Gordon $99,036; County Attorney Paul Mahoney $90,092;
Assistant School Superintendent James Gallion $77,485; Clerk of Court Steve McGraw $77,773; Assistant County Administrators Don Myers and John Chambliss $75,575 each;
Assistant School Superintendent Martin Robison $74,727; Chief of Police John Cease $74,606; school budget director Jerry Hardy $73,668.
Hodge, Gordon and Cease have county-owned cars for business use.
County officials do not receive annuities or other forms of deferred compensation, but several people in Roanoke get this benefit:
City Manager Bob Herbert $115,000 salary, $7,500 annuity totaling $122,500, plus a personal car;
School Superintendent Wayne Harris $111,376 salary, $11,858 annuity and a car allowance of $7,200, totaling $130,434;
City Attorney Wilburn Dibling $102,500 salary, $7,500 annuity and $2,000 car allowance totaling $112,000;
Commonwealth's Attorney Don Caldwell $93,231 salary from the state and a $3,750 annuity from the city;
Assistant City Manager James Ritchie $88,882 salary and $1,800 car allowance totaling $90,682;
Finance Director James Grisso $88,000 salary, $7,500 annuity and $2,000 car allowance totaling $97,500;
Assistant School Superintendent Richard Kelley $86,273 salary, $6,901 annuity and $3,600 car allowance totaling $96,774; Clerk of Court Arthur Crush $83,758 salary; Utilities Director Kit Kiser $82,650 and use of a city car; Assistant School Superintendent Rita Bishop $80,817 salary, $6,465 annuity and $3,600 car allowance totaling $90,882.
Connecting 2 valleys
Q: I've heard rumors that a telephone call from Roanoke to Blacksburg no longer will be a long-distance call starting in April. Any truth to it? If not, is there a chance it will happen in the near future? S.R., Roanoke
A: Roanoke-Blacksburg is not yet a local phone call, although some members of the business community would like to see it happen.
Perhaps the April connection you heard about involves Christiansburg, which becomes a local call to Roanoke and Salem on April 1.
The Blacksburg Chamber of Commerce has circulated a petition among its members for at least a year. If 5 percent of Blacksburg customers sign up, all customers could then be asked if they'd pay a higher rate for the added service.
Have a question about something that might affect other people, too? Something you've come across and wondered about? Call us at 981-3118. Or, e-mail RAYR@Roanoke.com Maybe we can find the answer.
LENGTH: Medium: 64 linesby CNB