The Madison County Board will vote Wednesday evening on a resolution to allow merit increases for department heads and to grant Madison County Administrator Dave Tanzyus a 16.7 percent pay raise, bumping his salary up to $140,000.
After serving briefly as administrator of Madison County community development, Tanzyus was appointed county administrator in May 2021 with a $120,000 salary. He was given a $3,000 raise in November 2022.
Human Resources Manager Andrew Esping explained during the Finance Committee meeting on Jan. 12 that the resolution does two things: It grants the chairman pro-tem and the county administrator the authority to conduct performance reviews for annual merit increases, and it “corrects” the county administrator’s salary to be comparable to similar positions in other counties and municipalities. The resolution must go before the full county board for final approval.
Madison County board member and Chairman Pro-Tem Mick Madison said Tanzyus “is a fantastic county administrator” and deserves the additional increase.
“I think Dave’s done an excellent job,” Madison said. “I think he’s earned it.”
He said Tanzyus “runs the entire county” and “oversees all county-wide offices to some degree.”
“He is the top dog,” Madison said.
However, the resolution has garnered criticism for being too significant of an increase in such a short timespan without following a performance evaluation.
“I think a pay raise of this level with no performance evaluation with someone who is 18-19 months on the job is just kind of absurd,” said Madison County Treasurer Chris Slusser.
“I am not opposed to anyone getting a hard earned raise,” added Madison County Auditor David Michael, “and none of my frustrations have to do with the current particular county administrator, whom I work well with, but I think the policy on raises exists to be followed, and if it isn’t to be followed, then who gets to decide when to follow the policy and when not to?”
Slusser said his opposition is not a personal attack on Tanzyus, but he said the board has a fiscal responsibility to spend taxpayer money appropriately.
“It’s not a good business decision, and the optics of it are definitely not good,” he said.
Board member Stacey Pace they have a financial responsibility to taxpayers.
"We, as County Board members, have a fiduciary responsibility to use money wisely," Pace stated. "This change would go against the current policies within the County. This is not a personal decision, it's a professional decision with the only bearing being a financial responsibility. We have to ask ourselves 'would I spend my own money this way?' If the answer is no, then why would we spend the taxpayers' money in this manner."
Tanzyus’ proposed raise also comes on the heels of a four-year union contract he negotiated for county employees. Madison said he did a “fantastic job” on the negotiation, which established a salary freeze for fiscal years 2021 and 2022, a 2.5 percent pay increase for fiscal year 2023, and a 2.25 percent increase for fiscal year 2024.
Slusser said the contract is fine, but Tanzyus should "lead by example."
Additionally, wages have been frozen for elected officials in Madison County for several years.
Wages were frozen at $110,115 in 2018 for county clerk, treasurer and sheriff. They were then frozen at $116,722 in 2020 for circuit clerk, coroner and auditor and $107,360 for board chairman. Most recently, the salaries for county clerk, treasurer and sheriff were set again at $110,115 in 2022 and were frozen at that rate through Nov. 30, 2026.
Madison agreed that salaries for elected officials have been frozen for “a long time” and “people deserve raises.”
However, Madison said a wage increase for Tanzyus - who is currently the 14th highest paid employee in Madison County - is necessary and won’t cost the taxpayers any additional money.
He said Tanzyus’ salary is already budgeted at $140,000, so the increase would not raise the levy.
Tanzyus is currently paid $123,154 per year.
“It was discovered that the county administrator salary is underpaid pretty significantly” when compared to those of city and county administrators in surrounding communities, Esping said during the Finance Committee meeting.
The average salary for city and county administrators in the surrounding geographic area is roughly $142,908, which is where they derived the $140,000 proposed salary.
Specifically, the county administrator for neighboring St. Clair County earns $145,000 per year. Similarly, city administrators for various Madison County municipalities earn comparable salaries including: $163,278 in Collinsville, $148,643 in Edwardsville, $130,000 in Wood River and $116,000 in Glen Carbon.
Madison said the proposed pay increase would also put Tanzyus’ wage in line with other Madison County board department heads, whose salaries range from $107,338 to $163,067.
He added that without the raise, Tanzyus would earn less than other department heads and would earn close to the same as the deputy county administrator, with roughly a $3,000 difference between the two annually.
Slusser responded that Tanzyus was aware of the salary when he accepted the position and should have been offered a higher wage from the beginning if equal pay was a concern.
“To go back now doesn’t make any sense,” he said.
Slusser added that other appointed county officials have different skill sets and have been in their positions for longer, justifying their higher pay scale.
“Some of these department heads have been here for a really long time,” he said. “With longevity and experience, yeah they would make a little more.”
Madison and Esping also said the increase would align Tanzyus’ salary with those of previous county administrators Doug Hulme and Joe Parente. Hulme earned $134,000 per year before he was terminated in 2020 and would have earned $141,470 in 2022. Parente had a salary of $131,000 in 2016 and would have earned $154,637 in 2022.
Slusser and Michael opposed the position of basing an employee’s salary on those prior.
“[I]t is not a common practice, nor best practice, to bring new personnel into an organization at salary levels previously earned by outgoing/retiring officials,” Michael said. “Newer personnel are almost always brought in at lower salary levels and then they usually grow into that higher salary range and maybe even exceed it, but that is usually after many, many years.”
In regards to the performance reviews and merit increases proposed in the resolution, Esping explained that department heads would be eligible for annual merit increases of 1.5 percent based upon performance reviews focusing on meeting yearly goals and objectives. Department heads are not included on the county’s step plan for wage increases, so merit increases are awarded in lieu of the step increases.
Esping said during the Finance Committee meeting that the county used to conduct merit increases based on performance reviews in the past, which have been “missing” since 2012. The resolution seeks to reenact the practice.
He explained that from 2012 to 2022, the county offered 3 percent merit increases every other year. The resolution would change that to 1.5 percent every year based upon the performance reviews.