Jefferson County Executive Dennis Gannon and Sheriff Dave Marshak could be in line for sizable raises next year if the County Council green-lights the pay increases.
The council took a preliminary vote on Oct. 10 to tie the two elected office’s salaries to the pay an associate circuit judge receives.
The Missouri General Assembly regulates the pay for circuit judges.
In the preliminary vote, council members voted 4-1 to pay the county executive 80 percent of an associate circuit judge’s current salary, which is $156,214, and the sheriff the same as an associate circuit judge.
The council may take a final vote on the proposed salary increases on Oct. 23.
If the proposal is approved, Gannon’s salary will increase from $90,477 to $124,971, an approximately 38.1 percent raise, and Marshak’s from $98,134 to $156,214, an approximately 59.2 percent increase.
The county charter gives the County Council the authority to set the salary levels for all county elected officials.
While neither Gannon nor Marshak spoke at the Oct. 10 council meeting about the raises, four residents did, all in favor of the proposal.
In a written statement, Marshak said his salary is lowest of the top law enforcement officials in six nearby counties in the St. Louis region, ranging from $275,000 for the chief of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department to $124,971 for the Franklin County sheriff.
Marshak also said his salary lags behind those for the police chiefs in Arnold, Pevely, Festus and Eureka, which are all in the six figures.
Another list of 10 municipal police departments with 30 to 80 police officers in St. Louis and St. Charles counties all have chiefs with six-figure salaries, with Lake St. Louis the lowest on the list at $122,871.
Likewise, Marshak’s statement said, Gannon’s pay falls far behind that of his counterparts in St. Louis County ($140,000) and St. Charles ($183,594), as well as the St. Louis mayor’s pay ($131,820).
Randall Morgan of Guild Mortgage, a 23-year Jefferson County resident, said a conversation with one of the Sheriff’s Office command staff convinced him Marshak deserves a raise.
“I was in the gym the other day and made an offhand remark (to the Sheriff’s Office employee). ‘One of these days, you could be the man.’ He told me, ‘I’d have to take a pay cut.’
“I was floored,” Morgan said. “I did some research and found out we are the sixth-largest county in the state. How is it that a person who has served this county for 30 years is paid less than some of his subordinates?”
Morgan said his contacts in the real estate industry have told him they live in Jefferson County for many reasons, one of which is safety.
“We trust you (the council) and Dennis and we trust Dave Marshak,” Morgan said. “But it’s not right that Dave Marshak could leave the job with the county and go to work for the city of Arnold as a low-level patrol officer and maybe make more there. I’m concerned about who would step up (if Marshak leaves, retires or decides against running for another term) and make less?”
Prosecuting Attorney Trisha Stefanski also wondered what will happen when Marshak moves on.
“We’re friends, but my concern is not with him personally. We’ve seen in other communities in the area what happens when law enforcement and the Prosecutor’s Office don’t get along or don’t have the support of each other,” she said.
“I’ve always said we can’t do our job without good investigators and police reports. I’m concerned if Sheriff Marshak decides to leave, who will take his place? It’s not going to be a well-qualified person who takes a pay cut. It will be someone who’s doing it for some other reason or doesn’t have the experience or leadership to lead a department of that size. That will trickle down eventually.”
Councilman Charles Groeteke (District 4, Barnhart) offered an amendment to the legislation that would give the County Council the authority to review any pay increase to the county executive and sheriff on a yearly basis as part of the annual budget process.
While Councilman Bob Tullock (District 7, Cedar Hill) voted for the proposal on its initial read, he said he would think more about whether to support it in subsequent votes.
“I do have a little bit of a problem with the compensation for county executive,” he said, adding that when he spoke with Gannon prior to the meeting, Gannon did not take a stand on a possible raise. “Not that I don’t think you’re doing a great job, but when you ran for this office, you knew what you were getting paid, and I have a little bit of concern about that kind of increase.”
Gannon said he’d be “thankful” for whatever the council decides.
“I am concerned about when I step aside, whether the county will be able to attract a strong leader,” Gannon added. “Those types of people are typically doing more than OK where they are, and they aren’t usually the type of people who want to take a pay cut.”
Council members Shannon Otto (District 3, Arnold) and Scott Seek (District 5, Arnold) were absent from the Oct. 10 meeting.