At a recent Guilford County Board of Commissioners meeting, a speaker from the floor suggested that commissioners pocket roughly $50,000 a year for their service. Several commissioners quickly pointed out that the number was off the mark.
To clear up the confusion, the Rhino Times requested the official compensation details from Guilford County.
According to the county, commissioner pay is set at $31,200 a year for regular members, $32,400 for the vice chair and $34,800 for the chair.
Of course there are other perks as well. It’s good to be the king and it’s good to be a commissioner.
Commissioners are eligible to sign up for county health insurance as soon as they’re elected. They don’t receive a travel stipend; however, the county (read: the taxpayers) does cover travel expenses for county related events when they are within the budget.
For instance, each year there are conferences of NACo, the national organization of counties, that holds events in nice locations. About two decades ago, the organization even held the large summer convention in Hawaii. The Rhino Times was one of only two mainland media outlets that sent a reporter to that event to see how many meetings the commissioners attended. The other outlet was a TV news station from South Carolina.
Guilford County traditionally budgets for commissioners to attend the annual NACo Legislative Conference in Washington and the annual North Carolina Association of County Commissioners conference. Any additional travel can be submitted for approval so long as the funds are available.
County issued cellphones, iPads and laptops are available to the commissioners who request them. Those devices have to be returned when their service ends.
Commissioners who serve at least 10 years – such as chairman for life Skip Alston – are eligible to remain on the county’s retiree health insurance plan.
These figures date back to a nearly 50 percent raise that the board quietly approved for itself three years ago. On June 17, 2021, the commissioners voted to increase their own salaries by $10,000 a year. The change was folded into the final adjustments to the county manager’s recommended budget and passed with no discussion and no comment.
That vote raised the chair’s pay to $34,800 a year, the vice chair’s to $32,400 and the other commissioners’ to $31,200. The changes took effect on July 1, 2021 and have remained in place ever since.
Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Skip Alston said at that time that the adjustment was suggested by County Manager Mike Halford, who concluded that Guilford County commissioners were out of line with their peers across the state. The official description of the change was “Budget Ordinance change based on analysis of positions not reviewed in class and compensation study.”
In recent years Guilford County has conducted a number of salary studies comparing the pay of county employees to that of their counterparts elsewhere. And, as many longtime observers know, those studies almost always come back recommending higher pay for almost every position. As the Rhino Times noted back in 2021, it is difficult to recall any study that has ever concluded that a government position was overpaid.
The current compensation numbers are the ones approved in that 2021 vote, and they remain the official salaries for the Guilford County
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If any bureaucracy can uncover another bureaucracy anywhere in the US whose staff are paid more than its own, that justifies increasing their own salaries ! It’s a mutually beneficial ratchet effect, at the expense of the taxpayer.
This is why the economically parasitic “Public Sector” is WAY overpaid for what they do.
So how about a bottom line total of all the goodies these folks get from us peasants?
I can tell you what the elected officials of Pleasant Garden get……0
That’s $31,200 a year for regular members, $32,400 for the vice chair and $34,800 too much for the chair. These nine democrats (7 regular + 2 who identify as republicans) should do this civic duty for free.
So the increase in 2021 was passed with no debate or public comment. Right in the middle of the Covid lockdown as well. Sounds a bit on the sneaky side doesn’t it.
I may take the minority view here, but it does not bother me that commissioners get paid for their time. It is a commitment, I would imagine much more than an hour a week but not a full time job. In any case, there should
be complete transparency in what they are getting paid, which is listed in the article .
I have no problem paying the Commissars…my problem is the amount and perks.
i wonder how many hours they put in to earn it & how much abuse they endure ?
Expenses (documented) and a small stipend I don’t mind. A salary I do.
The Pleasant Garden Town Council gets expenses (what few there are) but zip for a salary. They do it for the community.
because the ‘community’ is ‘good’ they don’t have many ‘problems’ ?
“Skip Alston said at that time that the adjustment was suggested by County Manager Mike Halford, who concluded that Guilford County commissioners were out of line with their peers across the state.”
Recalling that Skip and Mike were not bosom buddies, I’d bet Halford was told what to send back to Skip, and the answer was not the commissioners were already paid based on comparable sized governments.
As the old saying goes. . ..”the King wears no clothes”.
It’s unfortunate that he pay is so low that only people that only the wealthy can actually afford to hold these offices.
If I recall, it was the primary reason that John Hammer withdrew from his chance to be Mayor after a write-in campaign was successful. I don’t recall the actual details other than it was a big lose for Greensboro at the time that Hammer wasn’t able to serve. Anyone recall the details?
Can you add in the kickbacks and other under the table compensation?
I have no problem with a person being fairly compensated however I do have a problem if these pubic service salaries appear to be their only source of income. These positions were never intended to be a persons source of
livelihood. The paid employees should handle the operation.
I reported that County Board pay could be about $50,000 a year, based on “As of June 4, 2023, the average annual pay for Guilford County Commissioner is $45,544 a year”, and another time in the past I saw reported $47,000 a year. The $31,200 base pay can add up with the “perks” that appear to be computed during the year. Each of the nine board members is elected to serve a four year term.
What are average hours served for those positions and salaries? Job description?
ditto
If you or someone you know would like to run for one of the FIVE of the NINE Guilford County Board Member positions filing is December 1 – December 19th at the Guilford County Board of Elections. 336.641.3836. You need to be registered political party (R or D and maybe Libertarian) 90 days before filing) to be on the ballot for the March 3, 2026 primary. If you are Unaffiliated you need to collect what I consider a LOT of signatures. Board of Elections can advise how many signature you would need. 336.641.3836. Those that win in the primary (or there may not be a contested race) and Unaffiliated with enough signatures move on the General Election Nov 4, 2026.
WIN. Take office and begin the four year term.
People, people, people. Please remember that these ‘highly respected’ elected officials only work part time and their bloated salary and benefits are needed to support their (re)election campaigns. Let’s see, they meet monthly where they decide how much debt they can put on taxpayers, their kids and grandkids for the next 50 years; they limit comments from taxpayers and residents (they NEVER acknowledge anything anyone says); take taxpayer funded trips (transportation, food and lodging included) to god only knows where for ‘official’ duties; they have an annual taxpayer funded retreat complete with travel expenses, food, lodging and whatnot; they get free use of cell phones and laptops; they get reserved parking at the courthouse; they get taxpayer funded health insurance AND they get to decide how much to pay themselves! What could possibly be wrong with this??? Where do I go to sign up for THIS TYPE of part time job?
Gone are the days when candidates ran for office to truly serve the voters. Political office is now about power, greed, and money. And to add insult to injury, the majority of the voters who vote are ill-informed and are rallied to vote by the candidates. That is why Guilford County has third-rate commissioners. And that is why we need term limits for all elected politicians. For those in NC who believe in term limits to limit politicians’ power and greed, it is a noble effort to push the NC General Assembly to enact term limits by whatever means possible.
Don’t forget the value for your money. What benefit are you getting from the two powerless republicrats? The other seven are equally worthless. We’re being extorted to pay them so they can extort us to pay them more. It would be nearly impossible to write a more twisted story than our current tax code.
I would think that they commissioners should be paid.
However, perhaps it would more efficient that they get a percentage of the tax revenue. But wait, isn’t that what they are doing now? So they don’t need a salary?
Just a thought.
I am OK with the compensation due to the amount of time, etc., required. I am not a fan of health benefits and retirement.
When I worked in the County Manager’s office the commissioners all had full time jobs and careers. They owned businesses in many cases. But they were in their offices many more hours and many more days than I had expected them to be. As owners of their own business they frequently had a co-owner or an assistant who covered their duties at their companies so they could devote time to their constituents. They rarely served more than one to three terms in office because it was difficult to be away from their family and business so much. Back then the pay was nominal and it was considered by them to be performing their civic duty to the best of their ability. They wanted to help make life easier and better for the public. The number of phone calls I answered for them and messages I left on their desks for them to address could be overwhelming at times. They were in their offices at the Courthouse frequently. There were no mobile phones then and many did not publish their home numbers to limit the interruptions to their family time (that often didn’t succeed). Perhaps that was why they were so often in their offices but it was many hours and almost daily. The formal meetings were the least demanding on their time. It was the time spent interacting with citizens and attending meetings with other counties’ officials and events held in their district that needed their attendance that was hardest imo. Many had to be held after normal business hours so the public could meet with them. They missed many family dinners. Despite having a County Manager and assistants and Attorney, many citizens insisted to speak directly to them. Unless things have changed drastically, I expect that’s still the case. But there are many more citizens in Guilford County now. There is more interaction needed with more cities’ and State govt officials. From my experience I thought it was a wonder anyone would want to do what looked to me like a difficult and often thankless and demanding job. The Commissioners I worked for were dedicated and devoted to making a difference. They rarely pursued a higher office and we’re not professional politicians. I hope those who serve now have the same level of dedication. I’ve watched the County grow and seen the results of the efforts. Many times the projects they worked on took years to come to fruition. Guilford County would be a much less desirable home for many if we had not had enough good leadership to see us thru some rough times. I suspect there are some who are elected who should not be in those positions at times. It’s inevitable. But those most competent and with the best intentions and devotion to serving their neighbors have served us well or we would not be as desirable a community as we are.
time spent by any politician in meetings is time unavailable for their occupations or inherited/earned pastimes.