Although they are elected and not hired, Fayette County’s five commissioners enjoy access to several benefits offered to county employees beyond their base salary.

The compensation package for county commissioners includes not just a salary upwards of $23,000 but also coverage on the county’s health insurance plan and participation in the county’s defined contribution retirement plan, county officials confirmed.

The current annual base pay for commissioners is $23,152.12, except for the chairman, who receives $29,666.57. Each commissioner is also eligible for a $1,200 per year stipend based on completion of a training program offered by the University of Georgia.

The commissioners are also eligible for the county’s health insurance plan, but if they elect to be covered, they must pay the same rates as any other employee, according to county Executive Assistant Carol Chandler. All employees, including the commissioners, must pay one-third of the cost, whether they select single coverage or one of the dependent coverage options.

The commissioners also may elect to participate in the county’s defined contribution retirement plan, but not the newly-approved defined benefit retirement plan, Chandler said.

Under the defined contribution plan, the commissioners’ retirement payments are matched by the county in an amount up to 4 percent of their annual salary, just the same as is done for other county employees, Chandler said.

Just like county employees, the commissioners are 40 percent vested in the retirement plan upon their first four years in office and they are fully vested in the plan upon completing a fifth year of service.

Unlike other communities, Fayette’s commissioners are not paid for expenses, with the exception of out-of-town travel that meets the county’s travel policies, Chandler said. None of the county commissioners has a county-issued purchasing card, although they are allowed to by county policy, nor do any of the commissioners have a county-issued credit card, Chandler said.

Under the county’s travel guidelines, commissioners and employees can be paid a reduced per mile rate for travel if using their personal vehicle instead of a county vehicle, Chandler said. She noted that commissioners and employees can only stay the minimum time needed for the event or training, and those who choose to go early and or stay late must pay their own way for those extra days. Also, the county incurs no cost for any spouses who attend such functions, Chandler said.

When it comes to salary raises, the commissioners’ compensation is tied to the increases in Superior Court judges’ salaries, a matter decided by the Georgia legislature.

Commissioners’ salaries are also affected by the cost of living adjustment increases when they are given to all local elected county officials, another matter also left up to the discretion of the Georgia legislature. There was no such COLA increase in this year’s state budget.

login to post comments