CLAYTON — Two leaders of the ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Council — Shalonda Webb and Rita Heard Days — incorrectly gave the county auditor pay raises, and now the auditor owes the county $10,000 because of the overpayments, records show.
The full council would have had to approve Auditor Toni Jackson’s raises above the $120,000 salary set in county ordinance, but Days, who became council chair in 2021, and Webb, who succeeded Days in 2023, gave the raises unilaterally, according to emails from county human resource staffers to Jackson.
Days, a Democrat from Bel-Nor, gave Jackson a $3,000 raise two years ago, bumping her annual salary to $123,000.
And Webb, a Democrat from the Old Jamestown area of north ºüÀêÊÓƵ County, increased Jackson’s pay again last year, from $123,000 to $127,000, according to the emails, provided to the Post-Dispatch by County Executive Sam Page’s office.
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Days, Webb and Jackson did not respond Wednesday to separate requests for comment.
The discovery comes in an election year when Webb, a vocal critic of the county executive, is facing a challenge from one of Page’s allies, former Councilwoman Rochelle Walton Gray.
In both 2022 and 2023, the human resources department posted the raises after receiving a memo from Diann Valenti, the council’s administrative director and county clerk, according to a June 17 email from Jairris Goen, deputy director of human resources.
Jackson, Webb, county attorneys and human resources staffers met on June 18 to discuss the overpayments.
The meeting started with Webb acknowledging that the council chairs gave pay increases “that should not have been given,†according to notes taken by deputy county counselor Micki Wochner and detailed in a July 1 email. Webb went on to say she didn’t know she couldn’t independently give a raise to the auditor, who reports to the council.
Webb offered to pay the county back out of her own pocket to cover Jackson’s overpayments, or to use the council’s budget to cover them, but the county human resources director, Matt Livasy, said that wouldn’t work, according to the email from Wochner.
Jackson disputed the county’s findings in an email on June 25 to Livasy. County ordinance allows her to be paid up to $125,750 annually, she wrote.
“I disagree with you. Any amount over $125,748.96 is considered an overpayment. Otherwise, what is the purpose of having an ordinance with a salary range?†Jackson wrote.
Livasy forwarded Jackson’s email to payroll manager Leanne Pennington, who wrote back that the council would have had to vote to increase Jackson’s pay to the maximum allowed by ordinance.
Livasy responded to Jackson on July 1. He stood by the county’s figure: $10,015.20.
“Since your original hiring salary was first established, there has been no subsequent vote of the council to raise your salary above $120,000,†Livasy wrote.
Jackson questioned how the county caught the salary discrepancy.
“During the meeting it was not clear how this error was caught. Therefore, how do you know this is an anomaly and there are no other impacted employees from payroll overpayments or payroll underpayments?â€
Livasy didn’t respond to Jackson’s question. But Doug Moore, a spokesman for the county executive, said a whistleblower brought the overpayment to human resources’ attention.
The county expects Jackson to make payment arrangements by Saturday. She has yet to do that, Moore said. In the meantime, Jackson’s salary has been reset to the original $120,000 salary.
The council hired Jackson, a certified public accountant from Florissant, in November 2021 after it ousted former auditor Mark Tucker — his salary was $85,000. A state audit criticized Tucker for failing to uncover abuses by former County Executive Steve Stenger, who was federally indicted on bribery and mail fraud charges.
This isn’t the first time Jackson’s pay has been publicly disputed.
Councilman Ernie Trakas, a Republican from South County, alleged the auditor gave herself a raise in the county budget in July 2022.
Days, the chair at the time, had adjusted Jackson’s pay in June that year, according to the notes from Wochner, the county attorney.