January 31, 2013
On Wednesday, Jan. 30,
Guilford County Board of Elections Director George Gilbert let the
Guilford County Board of Commissioners know that he meant business when it came to a request for a retroactive salary increase he made last month: On Jan. 30, Gilbert's attorney, Seth Cohen of Smith, James, Rowlett & Cohen, filed a lawsuit of behalf of Gilbert in
Guilford County Superior Court.
That suit names the nine
Guilford County commissioners individually as defendants – in their official capacity as commissioners – and it argues that the commissioners are not in compliance with the state law because they refuse to pay Gilbert the salary he is entitled to by statute.
The lawsuit states: "Defendants have a statutory duty to comply with N.C.G.S. 165-35(c), that is, defendants have a statutory duty to pay the
Guilford County Director of Elections a salary in an amount recommended by the
Guilford County Board of Elections and approved by the Board of Commissioners which is commensurate with the salary paid to directors of elections in counties similarly situated and similar in population and number of registered voters."
It adds, "The salary for
Guilford County Director of Elections George Gilbert is not commensurate with the salary paid to directors of elections in counties similarly situated and similar in population and number of registered voters."
On Wednesday, Jan. 23,
Guilford County Mark Payne sent Cohen a terse, two-paragraph letter stating that, in the opinion of the county, it was "not appropriate" for the county to give Gilbert the retroactive raise Gilbert requested.
On Jan 30, right after the lawsuit had been filed, Cohen told The Rhinoceros Times, "Mr. Gilbert is disappointed at the response from the county commissioners."
Cohen said the retroactive salary increase request – which totaled less than $45,000 – was "more than reasonable," and he said that, by failing to honor the request the commissioners were not in compliance with state law.
Cohen added that now the court can determine the fair compensation for Gilbert.
After the suit was filed Wednesday afternoon, Gilbert said there were greater issues involved than just his salary.
"The statute has been on the books at least 50 years and it's never been tested," Gilbert said. "I think it is important for the court to go on record on this."
Gilbert said that, in other counties – such as Durham and Buncombe – the boards of commissioners have taken action to fairly compensate their election directors in accordance with the statute.
He said that, on the other hand, in
Guilford County, the Board of Commissioners had not.
The suit calls for Gilbert to "recover his damages in an amount to be determined at trial."
Gilbert and Cohen put the county on notice last month with a hand-delivered letter on Thursday, Dec. 20, which requested that
Guilford County pay Gilbert a lump sum of $42,103. The letter stated that Gilbert considered that a "reasonable resolution to this unfortunate problem."
That amount, according to the letter, is the total of a cash settlement of $35,298 in suggested back pay combined with adjustments to Gilbert's 401(k) plan and related benefits he would have been entitled to if his salary had been at a fair level for the last three years.
Gilbert, who has announced he's retiring on March 1, currently makes $99,319 a year as the county's elections director.
Gilbert said this lawsuit will have implications not just for him but also for future elections directors in
Guilford County as well as elections directors in other parts of the state.
According to Gilbert, state law has been set up to "insulate" elections directors so that they cannot be coerced and are not subject to political pressures by local governments or by the NC General Assembly. He said he isn't alleging any attempt here by the
Guilford County Board of Commissioners to do anything like that, but he added that the county is required by law to compensate him fairly.
"The statue is there for that purpose and for the county to just say, 'we're not going to abide by it,' is unacceptable," Gilbert said.
He said that, while other counties increased pay for elections directors to meet the requirements of the statute,
Guilford County hasn't increased his pay in years.
"That left me behind," Gilbert said.
He called the county's written response to his request "very perfunctory."
Commissioner Alan Branson said that everyone wants to make more money but the economy right now calls for fiscal restraint.
"In the real world, a lot of people have had to take pay cuts," Branson said.
Branson said that, many workers are happy to just have jobs right now. He said some people can't afford to keep the lights on.
"I, for one, too, would like to have a raise," Branson said.
Commissioner Hank Henning said he was reluctant to comment on the situation because he hadn't had a chance to speak with the county attorney about the lawsuit. However, Henning did say that his position on the matter of a retroactive raise for Gilbert is no secret.
"I don't support it," Henning said.
Chairman of the Board of Commissioners Linda Shaw said she had hoped Gilbert wouldn't take this step.
"I'm disappointed," Shaw said of Gilbert's lawsuit.
Shaw said that the county gave out equity raises last year and Gilbert was one of the recipients, but Cohen has emphasized repeatedly that this is unrelated to the equity matter.
Instead, Cohen notes, Gilbert has a special status among department directors, since, unlike other county department heads, state law has a specific statute regarding the pay of elections directors.
Commissioner Ray Trapp said there seemed to be a lot of agreement on the Board of Commissioners that the county shouldn't grant the pay increase request for Gilbert.
"For me, I didn't think it was in the best interest of the county," Trapp said.
The statute Cohen refers to in the lawsuit relates specifically to the pay of county elections directors in the state.
The lawsuit lays out the facts on which Gilbert claims insufficient compensation. The suit states that, of the seven most populous counties in North Carolina,
Guilford County ranks in first, second and third in various levels of ballot complexity, and it also points out that, since 2006, Gilbert has had more years of service than any of the directors in six counties in that group.
Despite that, the suit states, Gilbert's salary ranked fourth of the seven, and last year his salary was only $12 a year more than the director in the fifth county.
In 2012, the salaries for the seven directors are as follows: Mecklenburg, $112,227; Wake, $110,230; Buncombe, $104,111; Guilford, $95,719; Cumberland, $95,707; Forsyth, $90,126; and Durham, $80,000.
The suit also points out that, since 2006, Gilbert's average salary increase has been 1.5 percent, while the average increase for the directors in the other counties in the group was 4.5 percent.
The
Guilford County Board of Elections, which has the responsibility of recommending salary increases to the board, has repeatedly recommended salary increases, lump sum bonuses and increases in travel expenses for Gilbert. However, the commissioners' increases for Gilbert have not kept up with those recommendations.
...continued on page 2
Print
Email Link
Feedback
Share
Advanced Search