Deputy’s longevity bonus canceled

CEDAR RAPIDS - Linn County supervisors voted Wednesday to end a longevity bonus to Sheriff Brian Gardner's second-in-command.

Prompted by County Auditor Joel Miller, the supervisors voted unanimously to reaffirm a 1998 policy that ended longevity pay for elected officials and their appointed deputies. Sheriff's Col. John Stuelke, appointed chief deputy by Gardner, had continued to receive the bonus under a policy established by Don Zeller, Gardner's predecessor.

Miller said a member of his staff noticed an $1,100 check to Stuelke in December that proved to be the annual longevity pay. The practice had been discontinued, except for workers who receive it under their union contracts, after a consultant's study of county compensation practices.

That change was accompanied by a one-time adjustment to deputies' salaries to compensate for the loss of the longevity pay. But Zeller's chief deputy didn't receive the adjustment because his salary was already 85 percent of his boss', the limit set by state law. The law also allowed Zeller to continue the payments, which he did, Gardner said.

“It's been ongoing,” Gardner said. “Stuelke inherited that practice by virtue of his being my chief deputy.”

Assistant County Attorney Gary Jarvis told supervisors that Stuelke's longevity bonus was legal under state code.

However, “I don't like it, because it treats other political deputies differently,” said Supervisor Brent Oleson, R-Marion. The new resolution means “we'll keep things the same for everybody.”

Stuelke makes $97,331 this year.

“It comes down to, really, nobody's been paying attention and hadn't been the past couple of years,” said Miller.

Gardner said Stuelke “was fine with it” when told that his bonus was ending.

The supervisors didn't address Miller's request to have Stuelke reimburse the county for the three years of bonuses he'd collected.

“When you make a mistake in payroll, you get the money back - you don't just move on,” Miller said.