Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1914-12-15
the salary and clerk hire Of the $ county

officers:
The list of officers to be considered
In each county is substantially the
same and the work of the committee
has been to establish some basis of
comparison according to which the
salaries of the various Offices in the
several counties could be equitably APP
portioned, and in working out results
along this line we have considered
population and valuation as important
elements in determining the salaries of
most of the county officials, while in
some cases as in that of county COM
niissioners who are Obliged to travel
over their counties at their own ex-
pense in attending to their road work,
territorial inequalities have been con-
sidered. Moreover in measuring the
service OF county attorneys we have
taken into consideration the relative
foreign and native populations of the
respective counties. 10 ai AS
1t has been notable that in our inter-
views with county officials the re-
quests for increases in salary have
been remarkably few, while the de-
mands for more clerk hire have been
correspondingly numerous; conse-
has been comparatively easy, the net
result being that there is only nomi-
nal increase in the aggregate, no more,
we think, than would be looked upon
as imperative in the light of present
standards of compensation and when it
is considered that salaries once fixed
will be likely to remain generally un-
disturbed for period of 10 years, at
least. We have been obliged to recon-
mend decreases in a few instances
where it has seemed to us that no bas-
is of computation could be conceived
which would in any way equalize sal
aries without either imposing such re-
auctions or bringing about such large
increases in other counties as would
seem quite warranted.
Judges Of Superior Courts.
These officials are assumed to be of
the same legal standing and ability as
the Judges of the supreme court In
Cumberland county, at least, the
Judge has much more trial work than
do the supreme court judges, although
he is not required to participate in
law court work. We question whether
his duties are much, if any, less ardu-
preme court. and We have agreed upon
a recommendation that his salary be
1900.
In Kennebec county, while the stand
ard of ability is the same, the work is
materially less and the county is
smaller, and we think by comparison
salary of $500 is proper for this of :
flee and we SO recommend.
County Commissioner. ~e1
In determining the relative salaries
to be recommended for county com
missioners for the several counties. we
first prepared a composite table based
upon population and valuation as a
sliding scale. When this table was
made up it disclosed material differ
ences from present salaries, In some
cases larger and in other cases small :
er. 1t then became apparent that in
counties where the commissioners
have supervision over many miles of
highways in unorganized places, the
periodical inspection of which takes
much time and involves considerable
expenditures of money for which the
law allows no reimbursement, the re-
sulting figures were too small. More
over, while the alignment produced by
our table seems just and in 'cpnsonance
with equity. yet We have thought it
proper out of Difference to the stand
ards to which the counties are already
accustomed. to modify in some degree
both increases and decreases which ii
would have wrought, and we accord
ingly recommend the following appor-
tionment