Carbon County's elected officials will see a pay increase in 2020 and 2021.

During a special county commissioners' meeting on Tuesday evening, the board voted unanimously to increase the county's elected officials' salaries by 3 percent in 2020 and 2 percent in 2021.The action means that the county commissioners will receive $71,267 in 2020 and $72,692 in 2021. The current salary for the commissioners is $66,504, which was set in 2013, the previous term for the commissioners.Commissioner William O'Gurek said that elected officials received a total of 16 percent in raises over the past decade, which equates to a 1.6 percent raise average annually. The board of commissioners have set elected official salaries in two-year increments for the last five times.On the employee side, the county tries to give annual 3 percent raises, with the exception of 2013, when the board withheld raises due to a tax hike.The county treasurer, controller, recorder of deeds, sheriff, prothonotary and clerk of courts will also receive a 3 percent increase for an annual salary of $63,770 in 2020 and a 2 percent increase or a total of $65,045 in 2021. They are currently earning $59,509.Additionally, the register of wills/clerk of orphans court, which is a dual office, will receive $65,251 for register of wills with an additional $2,000 for clerk of orphans court in 2020 and $66,596 with an additional $2,000 for clerk of courts in 2021; the coroner will receive $30,156 in 2020 and $30,759 in 2021.All elected officials will also see 2 percent increases in 2018 and 2019 in their salaries, set in 2014.The board voted on the salaries for 2020 and 2021 because article three of the state constitution states the "Board of Commissioners (must) fix the salaries of elected county positions before persons actually run for and get elected to those offices" and "prohibits increases in the salary of any public officer during his or her term of office."The commissioners must also set the commissioners' salaries in advance because they are not allowed to vote on their own salaries during their term in office.All three commissioner seats will be up for election in 2019, meaning that the board could be made up of new people when these increases take place.