BOONVILLE — Under the current statute, Cooper County officials can hold a vote every year to give their positions pay raises without any justification required to the taxpayers.

It's done through a salary commission, which determines pay amounts across the board by majority vote. This commission is made up of 12 elected officials, including the county's sheriff, coroner and prosecuting attorney, though all three of those positions have separate systems of pay.

The other county officials set their salaries using an assessed value of the county itself. Commissioners told KOMU 8 that in 2023, Cooper County had a bump in assessed value to around $320 million.

This bump meant county officials reached the end of their salary schedule, turning the authority to raise salaries more to the commis

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