R.I. County board initiates pay raises

Rock Island county board members OKed raising salaries from $4000 to $5000 last year, with half of members to receive the raise beginning in December and the other half in 2006.

This was done in tandem with clarifying and restricting per diem payments to members, which were subject to abuse.

Per diems aren't eliminated with the salary increase, but what work is eligible for a per diem is now better defined, county board chairman Jim Bohnsack said.

That per diem system was pretty hard to grasp, with payments for anything from attendance at bid lettings, legislative breakfasts, picnics, retreats, meetings with the board chairman, and for conducting monthly inspections of county buildings and monthly payroll audits.

John Brandmeyer, D-Rock Island, collected $4,800 in fiscal year 2003-2004, the most of any county board member. Four board members didn't submit any per diem requests. Mr. Ellis, D-Rock Island, Don Jacobs, D-East Moline, and Wanda Sweat, D-Moline, each submitted one per diem request.

If board members submit per diem requests for all 764 meetings in fiscal year 2004-2005 -- a worst-case scenario -- the county would pay $45,840.