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In a 2-1 vote, Tooele County commissioners have approved a resolution to give themselves a 24 percent salary increase.
If ultimately enacted, the salary hike will boost the commissioners' yearly salaries from $69,959 to $87,023 — despite recent financial problems the county has endured.
Commission Chairman Wade Bitner and Commissioner Myron Bateman voted for the salary bump.
But Commissioner Shawn Milne, the lone dissenter, said the timing of the July 7 vote was inappropriate.
"It's an audacious proposal at this time," Milne said. "I believe the voters are waiting for the three of us to have a plan for the next five years."
In addition to the commissioners' planned raise, all county employees will get a 3 percent cost-of-living increase.
Explaining the proposed pay raise for commissioners, Bitner said, "One of the challenges we find when seeking people to run for County Commission is that they say it does not pay enough."
But due to public outcry that has mounted after the controversial vote, Bitner is second-guessing his decision.
"As chairman, I haven't signed off on this yet to make it legal, though I voted for it," Bitner said. "Our timing is a little off and I'm looking at the best decision."
He said there was no deadline for finalizing the proposed pay raise.
Raymond Dixon, a Tooele County resident who has been attending commission meetings for the past three years, said he spoke out against the pay increase at the July 7 meeting.
"I'm very upset over this," Dixon said. "Nearly 18 months ago, 160 county employees were laid off."
In 2013, to avoid a slide toward bankruptcy, commissioners approved a $2.6 million property tax increase, which resulted in a 5 percent to 7 percent increase in residents' overall tax bills.
Leading up to the tax increase, the county trimmed 418 employees down to 300 through layoffs and attrition, and chopped $2.9 million in general fund costs from 21 department budgets.
Factors contributing to the fiscal crisis included that hazardous-waste mitigation fees dwindled from $13 million in 2005 to $4.3 million in 2012, and revenue from chemical-weapon disposal dried up altogether. Between 2009 and 2012, the county subsidized operations at Deseret Peak Recreation Complex from internal restricted accounts, racking up a $6.5 million debt, while projected revenue from leasing jail beds to federal inmates fell short.
Last year, Tooele County raised property taxes again, an increase that amounted to $99 on a $210,000 home for municipal-type services.