Discussion And Request: Salary Supplement For Highway Superintendent-Eddie Simpson.

It's kind of simple, Mr. Simpson wants more money, but it's a bit complicated how it came about.

In 2009, under a previous county administration and Highway Superintendent, a decision was made to give the Highway Superintendent an additional $4,915.00 on top of the state mandated salary. At that time, commission added the title, "Highway Inspector" to the Highway Superintendent's job title. Of course, that was just a made up title to justify the supplement. At that time, the sheriff was making $4,915.00 more than the Highway Superintendent. The idea, for some reason, was to pay the Highway Superintendent and the sheriff the same.

For 13 years, the $4,915.00 salary supplement has remained tacked to the Highway Superintendent's salary. During this years budget discussions, we learned that Loudon County would be moving up to a class five county based on the increase in population, 50,000-64,199. Along with the new classification comes the state mandated increase in elected official salaries, except for commissioners. Since the Highway Superintendent would be getting a $4,995.00 raise just due to the increased population, the budget committee voted to eliminate the "Highway Inspector" $4,915.00 supplement. The new salary for the "Highway Inspector" would be $101,811.00. The budget was adopted on July 6th. You might think that a county official who just got a $4,995.00 raise might be grateful or if they had been overpaid $54,00.00 in eleven years they bight be happy. Not necessarly.

Mr. Simpson, who attended the meeting along with Sheriff Tim Guider, related the history of the supplement and reasons he should continue to receive it. Now it takes a little more history to fill in all the blanks. In 1979, the commission at that time, voted to convert the Justice Center to a workhouse. This was long before Guider became sheriff. Ultimately, the requirements to operate a workhouse were determined to be far too much to implement at our jail so the workhouse was never developed. However, the commission had already implemented a salary supplement for the then sheriff with the title, "Workhouse Superintendent" which is allowed under state law. (This is why the sheriff was making more that the Highway Superintendent in 2009. While the workhouse was never implemented, the salary supplement remained in place for forty years. Last year, the commission rescinded the workhouse designation. The sheriff's $4,915.00 supplement was also eliminated in this year's budget as that salary was increased likewise as the Highway Superintendent. 

Sheriff Guider explained that he had been asked by Mr. Simpson to attend the budget meeting but ultimately said, he didn't care either way, (if he got the supplement or not.) Not Simpson. He said he still wanted his extra $4,915.00 and has been calling commissioners lobbying for the money. It will be up to commission if Mr. Simpson gets his extra $4,915.00. 

By most accounts, Mr. Simpson has personally done well financially. Along with his $101,811.00 county Highway Superintendent salary, he also receives $7,200.00 annually as a city councilman. He also receives $4,800.00 as a LCUB board member along with $16,340.00 in insurance benefits.

In speaking with someone after the meeting, we were just scratching our heads on the request. The other person said, I guess it's true, "the more you have, the more you want" and it just never seems to be enough.