Supervisor locates law which allows sheriff to keep salary

A statue has been found which will allow Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace to keep his current salary, despite the population decrease within the county, according to District 1 Supervisor Ed Herring.

At Monday’s Warren County Board of Supervisors meeting, Sheriff Martin Pace revealed that he had taken it upon himself to arrange an adjustment to his salary – reducing his pay thousands of dollars. Pace addressed the Board, stating the 2020 census showed the population level had decreased, and according to the state’s pay scale, he should be in tier three, not tier two. Pace stated his research showed the population within Warren County is 44,722.

“That’s 278 people below the threshold to be paid in tier two,” Pace said. “So I requested that the payroll department immediately reduce my salary to tier three.”

Pace even offered to pay back any overpayments made, once the figure could be established.

On Tuesday, Herring stated a law passed in 1998 will allow Pace to keep his current salary. The law states “No county elected official’s annual salary established under this chapter shall be reduced during his term of office as a result of a reduction in total assessed valuation or change in population.”