WESTMORELAND COUNTY COMMISSIONERS POSSIBLY CHANGING THE WAY PAY RAISES FOR ELECTED OFFICIALS ARE CALCULATED

Westmoreland County Commissioners may be changing the way annual pay raises for elected officials are calculated.  The Trib reports that since 1996, raises for elected officers were linked to the consumer price index, which means next year, officials get a 3.25% increase.  Commissioner Ted Kopas has said for years that the raises should be capped at 2.5%, and this year, fellow commissioners Sean Kertes and Doug Chew say they be open to changing the automatic raises.  Kertes suggested the county will study how neighboring jurisdictions handle elected officials’ pay to formulate a plan that could take effect when the next board is seated in 2028 as the structure cannot be changed mid-term.