There has been much discussion about Deputy Judge Executive Bridget Compton and what some are calling the three jobs she now holds.
Compton was administrative assistant, but shortly after Larry Russell Bryant became county judge executive, he appointed Compton as deputy judge executive. The court never set a salary for the position, so she has continued making the same pay as if she had not received the new title and responsibilities. In addition, the court did not hire someone else as administrative assistant.
Compton is paid from several line items in the budget. Some of her salary comes from the road fund. A $1 an hour budget item from the solid waste fund pays for Compton’s third title as solid waste coordinator.
I’m baffled that I have yet to see or hear conversation about how one person can hold three jobs. Compton is a full-time, 40-hour-a-week employee paid hourly and receives time-and-a-half for all overtime. She may have lots of titles and lots of responsibilities, but it’s one job. If she has three full-time jobs that collectively require 120 hours a week to complete, shouldn’t the conversation include hiring more help and not just be about what Compton makes?
That has not been the conversation, however. It’s been about pay raises. Somehow, a conversation about a pay raise for Tammy Crew, the director of the Green River Animal Shelter, became entangled in the conversation about Compton. Crew said she did not request to be put on the agenda for a pay raise, so this was not her doing.
After the court voted to increase Compton’s pay in a 4-3 vote from $17.50 an hour to $24.75 an hour, they sadly voted 4-3 to not give Crew a raise. Magistrate Todd Davenport voted for Compton’s raise but against an increase for Crew from $14.70 to $18 an hour. You won’t find a more dedicated person to operate the animal shelter, and it was not very kind to throw a potential raise for her into the mix about a completely different matter.
Compton’s situation is very different in that she was promoted to a new position with more responsibility. Magistrates have fought a pay increase from day one, and it has more to do with Bryant than it does Compton. If we were to give an award for having the worst job in county government, I would pass up giving out the award for cleaning up dog poop at the animal shelter or searching inmates for contraband at the jail and give the award to Compton.
Compton worked in the judge’s office before Bryant came along. She is the right hand of a judge who has zero skills in developing teamwork, effective communication, or the ability to inspire and empower others, all traits of an effective leader. She is often the messenger, the go-between, the cleanup crew and the one stuck in the middle of all the chaos.
Magistrates have been very vocal that they did not want to acknowledge Compton’s new role because they believe she is doing the judge’s job. They do not want to pay someone to do a job held by another person who makes $100,000 a year. That’s completely understandable.
As elected officials, however, they should know that here in Kentucky, getting elected does not mean you have to perform the duties of the job. You should, obviously, but there is virtually no avenue to oust an elected official because they suck at their job. Magistrates cannot make a judge do anything, and they shouldn’t punish the county’s staff when they aren’t happy with the judge’s performance.
The deputy judge executive job is not a required position, and not all judges have filled the position. Gale Cowan did not. Ann Melton did not. Michael Stephens was the most recent judge with a deputy, and the one prior to that to my recollection would be Richard L. Walker.
Like it or not, it’s their option. But if Compton has taken on a role that requires more than 40 hours a week to complete, then the problem is not solved. Her overtime will now cost the county more than $37 an hour. I think they could afford a new hire if that would eliminate some overtime.
For two years Compton held a title that the court refused to put a value on. They have certainly done that now. Agree or not with the price tag, it’s still just a manipulating wordplay to suggest, as some have, that Compton didn’t get a pay raise, she only got paid for one of the three jobs she holds. Duties change, pay scales change, and titles change in any workplace, but facts are facts, and the fact remains that a 40-hour-a-week employee of the county government got a pay hike of 44 percent in one afternoon. It is also fact that the pay raise came two years after her new job title and her added responsibilities. Nobody in this process should be proud of what they have accomplished nor the way Compton was caught in the crossfire as our county government battled from within.
