EDITORIAL: When Commissioners Vote On Their Own Pay, Transparency Should Come First

By Mickey Lamm
Editor, JoCoReport

Johnston County commissioners were well within their legal authority to approve pay raises for themselves as part of the county’s newly adopted $434.9 million budget.

The issue isn’t whether they deserved the raises.

The issue is how they approved them.

The new budget provides county employees with a 3 percent cost-of-living increase on July 1, followed by a 2 percent merit increase on Oct. 1. Commissioners approved giving themselves the same overall 5 percent increase. There is nothing improper about elected officials receiving compensation, nor is there anything unusual about commissioners setting their own salaries. North Carolina law specifically gives county commissioners that authority.

What is troubling is that the commissioners’ own raises were never singled out for public discussion.

During weeks of budget workshops and a public hearing, commissioners discussed employee raises, department requests, capital projects, tax rates, water and sewer rates, landfill fees and dozens of other budget items. Yet there was no separate agenda item, no discussion and no public vote focused specifically on the salaries commissioners were approving for themselves.

Instead, the raises were embedded within the hundreds of pages that make up the county budget and approved along with everything else.

That may satisfy the legal requirements.

It falls short of the transparency taxpayers should expect.

This year’s budget arrives at a time when Johnston County residents are already paying more. The 2025 countywide property revaluation increased taxable property values by an average of 70.6 percent. Although commissioners reduced the property tax rate by one cent, from 52 cents to 51 cents per $100 valuation, many homeowners will still see higher county tax bills because of the increased property values. The budget also raises water and sewer rates by approximately 10 percent and increases landfill tipping fees.

At the same meeting residents learned about higher fees, commissioners also approved higher salaries for themselves.

None of that is hidden in the public record. But neither was it highlighted during the public process.

Good government is about more than complying with the law. It is about earning public confidence.

When elected officials vote on their own compensation, the public deserves complete transparency. That means clearly announcing proposed salary changes during public meetings, including them as a separate agenda item, explaining the rationale behind the increase and taking a stand-alone vote that allows citizens to see exactly how each commissioner voted.

There is nothing to fear from that level of openness.

In fact, it protects both the public and elected officials. Commissioners who believe they deserve a raise should have no hesitation explaining that position publicly. Likewise, residents should not have to file a public records request after the budget is adopted to learn what their elected officials approved for themselves.

Transparency should never depend on someone asking the right question after the vote has already been taken.

Johnston County’s commissioners often speak about fiscal responsibility and accountability. Those same principles should apply when the discussion turns to their own compensation.

The board missed an opportunity this year to demonstrate that transparency.

It shouldn’t miss the next one.