Navajo County spends $221,882 more on salaries for top officials than it did five years ago, for a total of $1,115,417, not including benefits, stipends and take-home vehicles.
The spending increase includes the addition of two new positions, an assistant county manager and a government affairs director, as well as a large pay raise for the chief deputy position in the sheriff’s office.
Positions noted in the total are not elected ones, and include the county manager, assistant county manager, chief deputy county attorney, finance director, human resources director, public works director, chief deputy sheriff, government affairs director, chief deputy clerk of the court, chief deputy treasurer, chief deputy recorder, chief deputy assessor, chief deputy superintendent of schools and clerk of the board of supervisors.
According to information provided both by the county and the League of Arizona Cities and Towns, the pay rate for Navajo County’s manager is higher than six other counties, including Apache, Gila, Graham, Greenlee, La Paz and Yavapai, and lower than seven others, including Cochise, Coconino, Maricopa, Mohave, Pima, Pinal and Yuma. Santa Cruz County did not report a salary, noting the position as vacant at the time of the league’s survey.
The county manager salary is currently $144,415, which does not include an $850 per month vehicle stipend received by the manager. Comparisons with other counties are based on only the salary, and do not include stipends or other benefits. The manager was receiving a $120 per month cell phone stipend for the first five months of the fiscal year, but it has since been discontinued, according to the county.
The $144,415 salary is an increase over the $134,348 salary paid five years ago, but is a decrease from the high of $148,118 that was paid during fiscal year 2008-09 before an across the board salary cut was instituted at the county.
An assistant county manager position was created in fiscal year 2008-09, and the salary was set at $110,840, the second highest among non-elected officials at the county. The position is partially funded by the Arizona Department of Emergency Management, and the assistant county manager functions as the emergency management director when needed.
The current salary for the assistant county manager position is $108,069 after the two-percent decrease. A $62 per month cell phone stipend has been discontinued, but the position includes use of a take-home vehicle. No similar positions were listed on the League of Arizona Cities and Towns survey for comparison with other counties.
The salary for the chief deputy county attorney position is $102,639, down from $105,893 five years ago. The position does not include any stipends, vehicles or other special pay. Compared to other counties across the state, the salary is higher in Navajo County than it is in Apache, Cochise, Gila, Graham, Greenlee, La Paz and Santa Cruz counties.
The county finance director salary is $94,683, which does not include a $53 per month cell phone stipend. The salary is down from the fiscal year 2008-09 high of $97,111, but up from $92,487 in fiscal year 2007-08, and $88,083 in fiscal year 2006-07. The current salary is higher than that paid for the finance director position in Apache, Gila, Graham, La Paz, Santa Cruz and Yavapai counties.
In Navajo County, the current salary for the human resources director position is $92,586. There are no additional stipends or benefits beyond those given to every county employee. That salary is down from the $94,960 paid in fiscal year 2008-09, and up from the $90,438 paid in fiscal year 2007-08, and the $86,131 paid in fiscal year 2006-07. The current pay is higher than that offered in Apache, Cochise, Gila and Yavapai counties. Salary information for the human resource director was not available from Graham, Greenlee, La Paz and Yuma counties, with several of those counties noting that the human resource duties were included in another position, such as manager or finance director.
The salary for the public works director is $90,122. The director also receives $53 per month as a cell phone stipend and a take-home vehicle. The salary is down from the $92,433 paid in fiscal year 2008-09, the $94,753 paid in fiscal year 2007-08, and the $90,241 paid in fiscal year 2006-07. The current salary is higher than that paid in Graham, Greenlee and La Paz counties. Several counties did not provide public works director salary information, including Apache, Cochise and Maricopa counties.
The chief deputy position for the sheriff’s office saw the biggest salary increase among the top county positions. In fiscal year 2007-08, the salary hit a low of $67,000. It is now $90,000, not including a $50 per month cell phone stipend, $150 per month uniform allowance and a take-home vehicle. The salary has been at $90,000 since fiscal year 2009-10, but was $75,000 in fiscal year 2008-09 and $80,303 in fiscal year 2006-07. The current salary for the position is higher in Navajo County than in Apache, Cochise, Graham, Greenlee, Santa Cruz and Yuma counties. It is nearly identical to the salary in Gila County of $90,522. Chief deputy salaries for La Paz and Pima counties were not available.
The government affairs director position, which first appeared in the budget in fiscal year 2007-08, has a current salary of $66,608, not including a $50 per month cell phone stipend. That salary is up from $60,826 in fiscal year 2009-10, $62,386 in fiscal year 2008-09, and $54,653 in fiscal year 2007-08. No similar positions appeared for comparison in the salary survey provided by the League of Cities and Towns.
In fiscal year 2009-10 the salaries for the chief deputy superintendent of schools, assessor, recorder, treasurer and clerk of the court were all the same at $57,420. In fiscal year 2010-11, some remained the same, while others dropped. The chief deputies of the superintendent of schools, assessor and treasurer continue with a salary of $57,420, while the chief deputies for the recorder and clerk of the court have dropped to $51,040. In fiscal year 2006-07, all of the same chief deputy positions were paid $50,850. None of the positions receive special stipends or take-home vehicles. Compared to other counties, the pay scale for these chief deputies is in the center of the range, with an average of six to seven other counties paying less than Navajo County.
The salary for the clerk of the board is currently $51,955, and there are no special stipends associated with the position. The salary is down from fiscal year 2008-09, when it was $53,288, and up from fiscal year 2006-07, when it was $47,986. According to the league’s report, Navajo County offers the lowest pay for the position among Arizona counties. Several counties reported, however, that the county manager acts as the clerk of the board. Those counties include Apache, Gila, Graham and Yavapai.
