After months of reviewing the proposed pay scale and its documents, the Greenwood County Commissioners approved the final items during its Aug. 31 meeting.
The resolutions associated with the pay scale, 2026-07, official position classification list; 202608, hourly and salary pay scales; 2026-09, establishing compensation rules, current salaries and compensation caps for elected officials; 2026-10, adopting the elected officials pay scale for newly elected officials; 2026-11, employee compensation placement policy; and 2026-12 – annual stipend compensation for the county election officer, were approved during the Aug. 31 meeting and can be found on page 11 of this week’s edition of The Eureka Herald.
During a recent meeting, the commission approved moving the EMS Director position from Level DD to Level BB. The change now places the EMS Director position on the same level as the Maintenance Supervisor and Noxious Weed Director. By moving this position, the proposed pay scale for that position will not match the recent market study conducted earlier this year. For someone who has served in that position for 20-24 years (the current EMS Director has served in that capacity for 21 years), Level DD ranges from $68,837.2480,618.06, with Level BB ranging from $55,873.63$65,435.86. Level CC ranges from $62,873.1773,633.30.
During annual Cost Of Living Adjustment (COLA)/merit raises last December, the EMS Director received a 1% increase, (rather than the 2% other department heads received, excluding the appraiser), moving that positions to $62,400 annually, which is approximately $18,000 below the market value, per the recent study.
Both the position categories by level and salary positions pay scale are pictured at lower left.
The commission also approved to remove the five commissioners from the pay scale and not follow the market study, but be eligible for the 1% annual increase and a 2% increase upon re-election.
Editor’s note: In last week’s edition, it was reported that Commissioner Mac Obourn abstained from voting on 2026-10 and didn’t sign the resolution. However, he did vote in favor and sign 202610; but didn’t vote or sign 2026-09.
Now that the pay scale and policy have been approved, the resolutions will now be incorporated into the personnel policy. The county will also review the tiered job descriptions before the end of the year. It was suggested that a committee of past employees who served in elected positions and a commissioner serve in this capacity.
Complete resolutions can be acquired by filing a Kansas Open Records Act request with the Greenwood County Clerk’s Office.
Due to the Labor Day holiday, the Greenwood County offices were closed on Monday, Sept. 7, with the weekly county commission meeting being held on Tuesday, Sept. 8, at 9 a.m. The next meeting for Greenwood County Commissioners will be held on Sept. 14, at 9 a.m. Reports from both meetings will be included in the Sept. 16 edition of The Eureka Herald.
