Carbon County elected officials will see a pay increase in 2024 and 2025.

During a special county commissioners’ meeting on Thursday night, the board voted 2-0 to increase the county’s elected officials’ salaries by 1% in 2024 and 2% in 2025. Commissioner Chris Lukasevich abstained from the vote.

“I deem it a conflict of interest to vote on one’s own pay raise and given that I, in consultation with my family, have made no definitive decision on my future as an elected official at any level, and wishing to maintain total flexibility as to future aspirations will abstain from this vote,” Lukasevich said.

The action means that the county commissioners will receive $76,385 in 2024 and $77,913 in 2025. The current salary for the commissioners is $72,692, which was set in 2017, the previous term for the commissioners. The commissioners will also receive 2% raises in 2022 and 2023.

The county treasurer, controller, recorder of deeds, sheriff, prothonotary and clerk of courts will receive a $68,350 in 2024 and $69,717 in 2025. They are currently earning $65,045 and will receive 2% increases in 2022 and 2023.

Additionally, the register of wills/clerk of orphans court, which is a dual office, will receive $70,081 for register of wills with an additional $2,000 for clerk of orphans court in 2024 and $71,523 with an additional $2,000 for clerk of orphans courts in 2025. The position currently makes $66,596 plus the additional $2,000 and will receive 2% raises in 2022 and 2023.

The coroner will receive $32,321 in 2024 and $32,967 in 2025. The current salary is $30,759.

Prior to the vote that was approved, Lukasevich made a separate motion to set the salaries for the elected officials for the years 2024 and 2025 “be set at 100% of the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington as published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (in January of each year for the preceding year) or 1.5%, whichever is less.”

The motion failed 2-1.

The board voted on the salaries for 2024 and 2025 because the state constitution says the “Board of Commissioners (must) fix the salaries of elected county positions before persons actually run for and get elected to those offices” and “prohibits increases in the salary of any public officer during his or her term of office.”

The commissioners must also set the commissioners’ salaries in advance because they are not allowed to vote on their own salaries during their term in office.

All three commissioner seats will be up for election in 2023, meaning that the board could be made up of new people when these increases take place.