By Holly Gaskill
During their Thursday meeting, the Wells County Council agreed to a $65 per meeting compensation for all county boards.
Currently, board members are compensated between $60-$70 per meeting. In the 2023 budget proposals, several departments requested increasing this compensation.
In their decision-making process, council members discussed if it were fair to vary compensation given the varying demands of each board. For example, though some boards meet for longer on average, others meet more frequently.
Surveyor Jarrod Hahn said that it is unlikely board members serve for money but that the compensation offsets the personal expense of travel and time.
“Some people travel from Unionville or Zanesville to come down for 10 minutes,” council member Chuck King said. “That’s a lot of gas, especially for right now.”
“I think it makes sense to make it consistent for all the boards,” council member Seth Whicker said.
The budget has not yet been finalized but will go to a public hearing at 7 p.m. on Sept. 6. It will be up for adoption at 7 p.m. on Oct. 4.
holly@news-banner.com
