In January, Leesburg Town Council discussed the possibility of issuing bonus payments to elected officials whose salary is set by a salary ordinance. Last night the proposal, which was suggested by Clerk Treasurer Mike Searfoss, was laid to rest after new information was discovered.

The idea of issuing bonuses to elected officials stemmed from the fact that each official’s salary, once raised to reflect a job well done, cannot be lowered again. In Januray, Tom Moore, council president, explained that if a person is being paid a certain rate for a job well done, their replacement would be guaranteed the same pay rate, regardless of the work done. Though an elected official’s salary can be increased, Moore noted once done so, pay can not be reduced later.

According to Searfoss, though it was initially believed that bonuses would not be included in the salary of an elected official, further investigation revealed otherwise. Searfoss noted that the state does not allow bonus payments to elected officials without the payment being included in the cumulative salary of that official.

Searfoss noted that non-elected employees of the town would not be held to the same regulations regarding bonuses however discussion on the issuing of bonus payments has been deferred at this time.