MOUNT VERNON — As of Thursday, there’s a $10,000 difference between what John Pyle, Knox County public defender, thinks is salary parity compared to what the Knox County commissioners feel is appropriate.
Pyle requested $324,150 in salaries for 2018. Currently, the commissioners plan on allocating $314,150, which includes a 3 percent raise for public defender staff.
Salaries of public defenders and their staff do not have to be equal to those in the county prosecutor’s office, but state law requires them to be similar. Experience and caseload can account for some of the difference. According to Pyle, the biggest discrepancy is the salary of Assistant Public Defender John Dankovich, who Pyle said is “seriously under rated” compared to his counterparts yet does substantially more work.
Dankovich, who has 10 years of experience and is full time, is paid $49,360 a year. Tonia Welker and Michael Miller, Job & Family Services, who Pyle says have similar experience as Dankovich, are paid $60,434 and $59,290, respectively.
David Merrell of the county prosecutor’s office has three years of experience and is paid $55,000. Assistant County Prosecutor Christine Williams, who has 20 years of experience, is paid $38,000 for a 21-hour work week. Pyle said that equates to about $72,000 for a 40-hour work week.
Dankovich received a $6,000 raise for 2017 because Brandon Crunkilton, part-time assistant public defender, freed up $16,500 in insurance costs by going on his wife’s insurance plan. Another $4,000 was allocated as raises for two other staff members.
Pyle thought the remaining $6,500 was still left and planned to allocate that to Dankovich in 2018, raising his salary to $55,591. However, Booth told him the $6,500 went toward security cameras ($3,300), wiring ($3,000) and other costs incurred when the PD’s office moved into its present location.
“There were definitely costs that were incurred on the county’s behalf to make that move,” said Booth. “We exceeded the $6,500.”
As it stands, Dankovich’s salary for 2018 will be about $50,840. “I’m trying to get him to $60,000,” said Pyle.
Commissioner Thom Collier asked whether, assuming Dankovich went to $60,000, Pyle would then point out next year that salaries for Crunkilton and Investigator Avery Dyer are not comparable to Dankovich’s.
“Are we trying to get these more balanced, or in line with each other?” he asked.
“The real measuring stick is what our counterparts in the county are getting,” replied Pyle.
Pyle told the commissioners that he personally has paid for expenses incurred by his office. Those expenses include continuing education requirements for Dankovich and Crunkilton, Dankovich’s membership in the Ohio State Bar Association so that he has access to its computerized legal research program, business cards, computer and office equipment and office amenities such as a refrigerator and coffee maker. He also said no one other than Dyer receives compensation for travel expenses.
Commissioner Teresa Bemiller said the commissioners were not aware Pyle paid costs out-of-pocket.
“No one’s ever asked you to pay for those costs,” she said.
Pyle said that looking ahead, a $2,000 cost for computer equipment that allows his office to go online with the state public defender office will greatly reduce the hours and hours spent on paperwork.
“That investment we make in going paperless will pay dividends,” he said. “I appreciate the budget crunch you are in, and I know you appreciate the parity on my end.”
Pyle’s position is summed up in a letter he wrote to the commissioners requesting Thursday’s meeting: “In short, if you compare the cost of what the county pays to maintain our office to what other counties pay for the same services, I think you will agree that our efforts should be rewarded by bringing my staff’s salaries in line with those of our counterparts.”
