As Bartholomew County Sheriff Matt Myers prepares to receive a raise mandated by state law, he is also urging county elected officials to provide bonuses to county workers.
During his first six years in office, Myers followed state statute by earning a minimum salary equal to 80% of what Bartholomew County Prosecutor Bill Nash is paid. Annual raises for prosecutors are dictated by state statute, and the amount is set by the Indiana Supreme Court.
Last month, Chief Justice Loretta Rush announced judges and prosecutors will receive a 2.45% raise. Their salaries will rise from $156,125 to $159,950 annually. So under the 80% rule, Myers will see his minimum base salary rise from $124,900 to a minimum of $127,960, county auditor Pia O’Connor said.
But in his final two years in office, Myers will actually be earning more than that and has the ability to earn just as much as Nash.
Since Myers has not been working under a contract since the end of 2019, he is allowed to not only earn a minimum 80% of a prosecutor’s salary — but also retain 10% of all sheriff’s tax warrant collection fees until his salary equals Nash’s earnings.
Many on the Bartholomew County Council expressed surprise to learn the sheriff has not been under contract for almost a year-and-a-half. Council member Matt Miller said he was led to believe last year that a contract would be forthcoming.
Myers didn’t seek a percentage of the collection fees last year because he was hoping the county council would grant him a pension, Bartholomew County Sheriff’s office attorney Jeff Beck said.
But in October, the council overwhelmingly voted against providing Myers with a county pension after he steps down at the end of next year due to term limits.
“When it became clear he wasn’t going to get the pension, (Myers) began to take the tax warrant money for his final two years,” Beck said.
After last October’s vote, there are several thousand dollars that had been set aside for Myers’ pension that was returned to the county general fund, Beck said. The amount he might receive from tax warrant collection fees will be similar to the pension funds he was forced to forfeit, the attorney said.
Myers will get a pension from the Columbus Police Department after he retired as a CPD lieutenant in 2014, but not for some time after he steps down as sheriff.
Beck and council attorney Chris Monroe expressed different opinions on whether Myers’ raise must begin in July, or if money can be set aside until the county’s fiscal year begins on Jan. 1.
After Beck warned delays might be illegal, the council voted to postpone a decision on the matter until June, in order to gather more details.
On the same day the council met, Myers distributed a letter to the county commissioners, O’Connor and council members asking that bonuses be provided to what is likely hundreds of county workers.
If the sheriff’s proposal is accepted, the money will come from the $16.25 million Bartholomew County has or will receive through the American Rescue Plan, the letter stated. A committee is currently being formed to determine how to spend those funds.
Myers states he believes some of that money should be used to reward county employees who were put at risk coming to work during the pandemic.
He specifically mentioned employees of the Sheriff’s office, the jail, the health department, county youth services center, emergency operations center, maintenance, animal control, the highway department, Community Corrections, courts, prosecutor’s office, clerk’s office and any other employee who interacted with the public.
“Most county employees work for wages well below what they could receive in the private sector,” Myers said in the letter. “I believe you have an opportunity to show your appreciation to these employees who are more than deserving for putting themselves and their families in harm’s way.”
Federal guidelines state some of the money can be spent “to respond to workers performing essential work during the public health emergency by providing premium pay to eligible workers of Columbus, Bartholomew County government, and non-entitlement units of local government.”
The funds could also provide grants to certain employers who have eligible workers who perform essential work.
At this time, Myers is asking only that his proposal be presented to the new committee for consideration.
