W. Va. Code § 7-7-4

Compensation of elected county officials and county commissioners for each class of county; effective date.

  1. (1) The increased salaries to be paid to the county commissioners and the other elected county officials described in this section on and after July 1, 2014, and on and after July 1, 2022, are set out in subsections (5) and (7) of this section. Every county commissioner and elected county official in each county, whose term of office commenced prior to or on or after July 1, 2014, shall receive the same annual salary by virtue of legislative findings of extra duties as set forth in §7-7-1 of this code.
  2. (2) Before the increased salaries, as set out in subsections (5) and (7) of this section, are paid to the county commissioners and the elected county officials, the following requirements must be met:

    1. (A) The Auditor has certified that the fiscal condition of the county, considering costs, revenues, liabilities, and significant trends of the same; maintenance standards; and the commitment to the provision of county services has sufficiently improved over the previous fiscal years so that there exists an amount sufficient for the payment of the increase in the salaries set out in subsections (5) and (7) of this section and the related employment taxes: Provided, That the Auditor may not provide the certification for the payment of the increase in the salaries where any proposed annual county budget contains anticipated receipts which are unreasonably greater or lesser than that of the previous year. For purposes of this subsection, the term “receipts” does not include unencumbered fund balance or federal or state grants: Provided, however, That the Auditor shall not be held liable for relying upon information and data provided by a county commission in assessing the county’s fiscal condition or a proposed annual county budget; and
    2. (B) Each county commissioner or other elected official described in this section in office on the effective date of the increased salaries provided by this section who desires to receive the increased salary shall have prior to that date filed in the office of the clerk of the county commission his or her written request for the salary increase. The salary for the person who holds the office of county commissioner or other elected official described in this section who fails to file the written request as required by this subdivision shall be the salary for that office in effect immediately prior to the effective date of the increased salaries provided by this section until the person vacates the office or his or her term of office expires, whichever first occurs.

      Any request for a salary increase shall use the following language:

      I, [name of office holder], the duly elected [name of office] in and for the County of [name of county], West Virginia, do hereby request a salary increase pursuant to W. Va. Code §7-7-4 of this code, as amended. This salary increase is effective ( _________ ).

      [Signature of office holder]

      [Date]

  3. (3) If the Auditor has failed to certify that there is an amount sufficient for the payment of the increase in the salaries and the related employment taxes pursuant to this section, then the salaries of that county’s elected officials and commissioners shall remain at the level in effect at the time certification was sought.
  4. (4) In any county having a tribunal in lieu of a county commission, the county commissioners of that county may be paid less than the minimum salary limits of the county commission for that particular class of the county.
  5. (5) Prior to July 1, 2014:

    COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
    Class I$36,960
    Class II$36,300
    Class III$35,640
    Class IV$34,980
    Class V$34,320
    Class VI$28,380
    Class VII$27,720
    Class VIII$25,080
    Class IX$24,420
    Class X$19,800

    After June 30, 2014:

    COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
    Class I$41,395
    Class II$40,656
    Class III$39,917
    Class IV$39,178
    Class V$38,438
    Class VI$31,786
    Class VII$31,046
    Class VIII$28,090
    Class IX$27,350
    Class X$22,176

    After June 30, 2022:

    COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
    Class I$45,535
    Class II$44,722
    Class III$43,909
    Class IV$43,096
    Class V$42,282
    Class VI$34,965
    Class VII$34,151
    Class VIII$30,899
    Class IX$30,085
    Class X$24,394
  6. (6) For the purpose of determining the salaries to be paid to the elected county officials of each county, the salaries for each county office by class, set out in subsection (7) of this section, are established and shall be used by each county commission in determining the salaries of each of their county officials other than salaries of members of the county commission.
  7. (7) Prior to July 1, 2014:

    OTHER ELECTED OFFICIALS

    SheriffCounty ClerkCircuit ClerkAssessorProsecuting Attorney
    Class I$44,880$55,440$55,440$44,880$96,600
    Class II$44,220$54,780$54,780$44,220$94,400
    Class III$43,890$53,460$53,460$43,890$92,200
    Class IV$43,560$53,154$53,154$43,560$90,000
    Class V$43,230$52,800$52,800$43,230$87,800
    Class VI$42,900$49,500$49,500$42,900$59,400
    Class VII$42,570$48,840$48,840$42,570$56,760
    Class VIII$42,240$48,180$48,180$42,240$54,120
    Class IX$41,910$47,520$47,520$41,910$50,160
    Class X$38,280$42,240$42,240$38,280$46,200

    After June 30, 2014:

    OTHER ELECTED OFFICIALS

    SheriffCounty ClerkCircuit ClerkAssessorProsecuting Attorney
    Class I$50,266$62,093$62,093$50,266$108,192
    Class II$49,526$61,354$61,354$49,526$105,728
    Class III$49,157$59,875$59,875$49,157$103,264
    Class IV$48,787$59,536$59,536$48,787$100,800
    Class V$48,418$59,136$59,136$48,418$98,336
    Class VI$48,048$55,440$55,440$48,048$66,528
    Class VII$47,678$54,701$54,701$47,678$63,571
    Class VIII$47,309$53,962$53,962$47,309$60,614
    Class IX$46,939$53,222$53,222$46,939$56,179
    Class X$42,874$47,309$47,309$42,874$51,744

    After June 30, 2022:

    OTHER ELECTED OFFICIALS

    SheriffCounty ClerkCircuit ClerkAssessorProsecuting Attorney
    Class I$56,793$68,302$68,302$56,793$119,011
    Class II$55,979$67,489$67,489$55,979$116,301
    Class III$55,573$65,863$65,863$55,573$113,590
    Class IV$55,166$65,485$65,485$55,166$110,880
    Class V$54,760$65,050$65,050$54,760$108,170
    Class VI$54,353$60,984$60,984$53,853$73,181
    Class VII$53,946$60,171$60,171$53,446$69,928
    Class VIII$53,540$59,358$59,358$52,940$66,675
    Class IX$53,133$58,544$58,544$52,533$61,797
    Class X$48,661$52,040$52,040$47,811$56,918
  8. (8) Any county clerk, circuit clerk, county assessor, prosecuting attorney, or sheriff of a Class I through Class V county, inclusive, any assessor or any sheriff of a Class VI through Class IX county, inclusive, shall devote full time to his or her public duties to the exclusion of any other employment: Provided, That any public official whose term of office begins when his or her county’s classification imposes no restriction on his or her outside activities may not be restricted on his or her outside activities during the remainder of the term for which he or she is elected.
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