Effective 28 Aug 2018

50.333. Salary commission, duties of clerk or court administrator, meetings, notice of, members, duties, report, form, failure to meet, effect of — mileage allowance — maximum compensation allowable, defined (noncharter counties). — 1. There shall be a salary commission in every nonchartered county.

2. The clerk or court administrator of the circuit court of the judicial circuit in which such county is located shall set a date, time and place for the salary commission meeting and serve as temporary chairman of the salary commission until the members of the commission elect a chairman from their number. Upon written request of a majority of the salary commission members the clerk or court administrator of the circuit court shall forthwith set the earliest date possible for a meeting of the salary commission. The circuit clerk or court administrator shall give notice of the time and place of any meeting of the salary commission. Such notice shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in such county at least five days prior to such meeting. Such notice shall contain a general description of the business to be discussed at such meeting.

3. The members of the salary commission shall be:

(1) The recorder of deeds if the recorder's office is separate from that of the circuit clerk;

(2) The county clerk;

(3) The prosecuting attorney;

(4) The sheriff;

(5) The county commissioners;

(6) The collector or treasurer ex officio collector;

(7) The treasurer or treasurer ex officio collector;

(8) The assessor;

(9) The auditor;

(10) The public administrator; and

(11) The coroner.

­­Members of the salary commission shall receive no additional compensation for their services as members of the salary commission. A majority of members shall constitute a quorum.

4. Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 610.021 and 610.022, all meetings of a county salary commission shall be open meetings and all votes taken at such meetings shall be open records. Any vote taken at any meeting of the salary commission shall be taken by recorded yeas and nays.

5. In every county, the salary commission shall meet at least once before November thirtieth of each odd-numbered year and may meet in any even-numbered year. The salary commission may meet as many times as it deems necessary and may meet after November thirtieth and prior to December fifteenth of any odd-numbered year if the commission has met at least once prior to November thirtieth of that year. At any meeting of the salary commission, the members shall elect a chairman from their number. The county clerk shall present a report on the financial condition of the county to the commission once the chairman is elected, and shall keep the minutes of the meeting.

6. For purposes of this section, the 1988 base compensation is the compensation paid on September 1, 1987, plus the same percentage increase paid or allowed, whichever is greater, to the presiding commissioner or the sheriff, whichever is greater, of that county for the year beginning January 1, 1988. Such increase shall be expressed as a percentage of the difference between the maximum allowable compensation and the compensation paid on September 1, 1987. At its meeting in 1987 and at any meeting held in 1988, the salary commission shall determine the compensation to be paid to every county officer holding office on January 1, 1988. The salary commission shall establish the compensation for each office at an amount not greater than that set by law as the maximum compensation. If the salary commission votes to increase compensation, but not to pay the maximum amount authorized by law for any officer or office, then the increase in compensation shall be the same percentage increase for all officers and offices and shall be expressed as a percentage of the difference between the maximum allowable compensation and the compensation being received at the time of the vote. If two-thirds of the members of the salary commission vote to decrease the compensation being received at the time of the vote below that compensation, all officers shall receive the same percentage decrease. The commission may vote not to increase or decrease the compensation and that compensation shall continue to be the salary of such offices and officers during the subsequent term of office.

7. For the year 1989 and every second year thereafter, the salary commission shall meet in every county as many times as it deems necessary on or prior to November thirtieth of any such year for the purpose of determining the amount of compensation to be paid to county officials. For each year in which the commission meets, the members shall elect a chairman from their number. The county clerk shall present a report on the financial condition of the county to the commission once the chairman is elected, and shall keep minutes of the meeting. The salary commission shall then consider the compensation to be paid for the next term of office for each county officer to be elected at their next general election. If the commission votes not to increase or decrease the compensation, the salary being paid during the term in which the vote was taken shall continue as the salary of such offices and officers during the subsequent term of office. If the salary commission votes to increase the compensation, all officers or offices whose compensation is being considered by the commission at that time shall receive the same percentage of the maximum allowable compensation. However, for any county in which all offices' and officers' salaries have been set at one hundred percent of the maximum allowable compensation, the commission may vote to increase the compensation of all offices except that of full-time prosecuting attorneys at that or any subsequent meeting of the salary commission without regard to any law or maximum limitation established by law. Such increase shall be expressed as a percentage of the compensation being paid during the term of office when the vote is taken, and each officer or office whose compensation is being established by the salary commission at that time shall receive the same percentage increase over the compensation being paid for that office during the term when the vote is taken. This increase shall be in addition to any increase mandated by an official's salary schedule because of changes in assessed valuation during the current term. If the salary commission votes to decrease the compensation, a vote of two-thirds or more of all the members of the salary commission shall be required before the salary or other compensation of any county office shall be decreased below the compensation being paid for the particular office on the date the salary commission votes, and all officers and offices shall receive the same percentage decrease.

8. The salary commission shall issue, not later than December fifteenth of any year in which it meets, a report of compensation to be paid to each officer and the compensation so set shall be paid beginning with the start of the subsequent term of office of each officer. The report of compensation shall be certified to the clerk of the county commission for the county and shall be in substantially the following form:

The salary commission for ______ County hereby certifies that it has met pursuant to law to establish compensation for county officers to be paid to such officers during the next term of office for the officers affected. The salary commission reports that there shall be (no increase in compensation) (an increase of ______ percent) (a decrease of ______ percent) (county officer's salaries set at ______ percent of the maximum allowable compensation).

­­Salaries shall be adjusted each year on the official's year of incumbency for any change in the last completed assessment that would affect the maximum allowable compensation for that office.

9. For the meeting in 1989 and every meeting thereafter, in the event a salary commission in any county fails, neglects or refuses to meet as provided in this section, or in the event a majority of the salary commission is unable to reach an agreement and so reports or fails to certify a salary report to the clerk of the county commission by December fifteenth of any year in which a report is required to be certified by this section, then the compensation being paid to each affected office or officer on such date shall continue to be the compensation paid to the affected office or officer during the succeeding term of office.

10. Other provisions of law notwithstanding, in every instance where an officer or employee of any county is paid a mileage allowance or reimbursement, the county commission shall allow or reimburse such officers or employees out of the county treasury at the highest rate paid to any county officer for each mile actually and necessarily traveled in the performance of their official duties. The county commission of any county may elect to pay a mileage allowance for any county commissioner for travel going to and returning from the place of holding commission meetings and for all other necessary travel on official county business in the personal motor vehicle of the commissioner presenting the claim. The governing body of any county of the first classification not having a charter form of government may provide by order for the payment of mileage expenses of elected and appointed county officials by payment of a certain amount monthly which would reflect the average monthly mileage expenses of such officer based on the amount allowed pursuant to state law for the payment of mileage for state employees. Any order entered for such purpose shall not be construed as salary, wages or other compensation for services rendered.

11. The term "maximum allowable compensation" as used in this section means the highest compensation which may be paid to the specified officer or office in the particular county based on the salary schedule established by law for the specified officer or office. If the salary commission at its meeting in 1987 voted for one hundred percent of the maximum allowable compensation and does not change such vote at its meeting held within thirty days after May 13, 1988, as provided in subsection 6 of this section, the one hundred percent shall be calculated on the basis of the total allowable compensation permitted after May 13, 1988.

12. At the salary commission meeting which establishes the percentage rate to be applied to county officers during the next term of office, the salary commission may authorize the further adjustment of such officers' compensation as a cost-of-living component and effective January first of each year, the compensation for county officers may be adjusted by the county commission, and if the adjustment of compensation is authorized, the percentage increase shall be the same for all county officers, not to exceed the percentage increase given to the other county employees. The compensation for all county officers may be set as a group, although the change in compensation will not become effective until the next term of office for each officer.

13. At the salary commission meeting in 1997 which establishes the salaries for those officers to be elected at the general election in 1998, the salary commission of each noncharter county may provide salary increases for associate county commissioners elected in 1996. This one-time increase is necessitated by the change from two- to four-year terms for associate commissioners pursuant to house bill 256*, passed by the first regular session of the eighty-eighth general assembly in 1995.

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(L. 1987 S.B. 65, et al. § 7, A.L. 1988 S.B. 431, A.L. 1990 S.B. 525 merged with S.B. 580, A.L. 1995 H.B. 274 & 268, A.L. 1996 S.B. 719, A.L. 1997 S.B. 11, A.L. 1998 S.B. 819, A.L. 2005 S.B. 210, A.L. 2018 S.B. 568)

*See section 49.020.

(2000) In determining amount of annual compensation to be paid to public administrators, more specific provisions of section 473.739 apply. State ex rel. Pate v. Mooney, 22 S.W.3d 766 (Mo.App.E.D.).

(2000) Section does not authorize salary commission to provide for automatic increase in assessor's compensation based on unknown future increases in county's assessed valuation. Day v. Wright County, 69 S.W.3d 485 (Mo.App.S.D.).