A Butler County salary board discussion Monday about proposed raises for five nonunion employees turned into a debate on salaries and hiring.

County Commissioner Jim Eckstein, who is on the salary board with the other two commissioners and the county controller, proposed five posts receive an extra 3 percent raise this year.

Eckstein said the five posts — elections bureau director, chief assessor, tax claim director, accounts manager in the commissioners’ office and motor pool director — warrant a pay hike.

For this year, Marty Hoover, motor pool director, earns an annual salary of $53,112; Dawn Lusk, accounts manager, receives $47,241; Shari Brewer, elections bureau director earns $50,771; chief assessor Chris Savage gets $64,061; and tax claim director Janet Mentel receives $46,635.

Eckstein unsuccessfully argued the people filling those posts are underpaid, so that deficiency should be addressed if nothing would be implemented from a salary study that was completed last year.

“I believe in merit pay,” he said. “We haven’t done a darn thing with the salary study.”

Commissioner Dale Pinkerton said the county would address salaries of nonunion workers when finalizing the 2015 budget.

“We want to do it all at one time,” Pinkerton said.

County Controller Ben Holland agreed it would be bad idea to increase salaries for five posts, but no others.

Holland said he spoke to his predecessor, Jack McMillin, who also said Eckstein’s proposal had no merit.

“He said ‘voting for this would be pegging the stupidity meter,’” Holland quoted McMillin as saying.

McMillin later confirmed Holland relayed his comments accurately.

“That’s precisely what I said,” McMillin said in an interview.

Eckstein took offense at Holland’s comments. According to Eckstein, Holland has eagerly approved job creations since he took office this year.

“You haven’t seen a new position you didn’t like,” Eckstein said.

He accused his fellow salary board members of adding new posts indiscriminately in 2014. According to county records, 11 were created this year.

However, Pinkerton pointed out the county only hired two new people while making some part-timers full-time.

Some jobs existed under different funding sources, but were forced to draw totally on county dollars when revenue streams dried up.

Eckstein supported the creation of three of 11 new posts. He stressed the five posts selected weren’t done on a whim.

“It certainly wasn’t random on my part,” Eckstein said.

He claimed the other salary board members would be discriminated against women if they didn’t approve his proposal because two posts are held by women who were preceded by men.

Eckstein, who has been accused of discriminating against women while in office, said in an interview he was not being hypocritical.

“Those were allegations I denied,” he said. “They were absolutely false.”

The county settled one complaint against Eckstein by having the commissioners attend training on how to deal with workers.

An independent firm could find no evidence of discrimination in another case. However, the Pittsburgh firm did state Eckstein’s behavior left the county open to potential litigation.

Eckstein maintains that finding proved his innocence.

Commissioner Bill McCarrier sided with Pinkerton and Holland in deferring any such raises.