West Chester doles out director raises as much as 3.75%

The lowest raise of 2.25% went to Police Chief Joel Herzog who has a new annual salary of $113,761. Burks wouldn’t discuss individual increases or performance but Herzog came under scrutiny last summer when two of his former captains lodged complaints against him.

Last year he did not get a raise at all. An outside investigator ultimately found Herzog should not face disciplinary action but some of his actions were not appropriate. The matter is now the subject of a lawsuit in federal court.

“Everyone has areas where they perform very well and everyone has areas where they have not performed so well,” Burks said adding he didn’t want to single anyone out but said some need to improve “and that’s reflective in the merit increases.”

The Journal-New requested performance evaluations for the directors but they were not immediately available.

Of the directors Fire Chief Rick Prinz earns the highest salary at $129,569 after his 3.2% pay hike. Finance Director Ken Keim is second on the director salary scale earning $114,363 including his 3.25% increase.

Other pay hikes include: Tim Franck, director of community services, who received 3.35% upping his pay to $100,799; Aaron Wiegand, economic development director who now earns $89,358 after his 2.75% hike and Barb Wilson, director of public information and engagement who received a 3.25% raise up to $100,971.

Every year the trustees take a percentage of the total non-union payroll — this year it is 3.5% — for raises. The $155,518 pool is to reward 76 employees based on their performance reviews. The pool also includes $36,400 for part-time firefighter and fire inspector raises.

The trustees gave Burks a $4,540 raise earlier this year bringing his annual salary up to $147,761, his increase is outside the bucket of money they approve for the rest of the non-contractual raises.

Employees can earn 1% to 4% based on their performance. Assistant Administrator Lisa Brown is the only leader to receive the full 4% hike in the past two years. This year they signed her to a contract that brought her pay from $99,900 up to $111,000. There is a $10,000 bonus if she stays for at least four years.

The trustees told the Journal-News they didn’t want to lose such a valuable employee.

“She was very good, she was in high demand,” Trustee Lee Wong said previously. “We’d like to keep her, she’s done a good job.”