Clay County voters renew school tax, keep commissioner salary cap, elect Edwards

Clay County voters made decisions on two local issues and elected a new member to the five-person Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday.

Democrat Leroy Edwards overtook Republican Lolita Smoak in the race for County Commission Seat 2, with 55% of the vote.

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At the same time, nearly 69% of voters rejected a proposed amendment to the county charter that would have nixed the current $37,000 salary cap for commissioners. The change would have instead set commissioner salaries according to a state-designated population-based formula that could have seen them earning about $97,000 per year.

The proposed amendment was placed on the ballot by the county’s charter revision commission, with some members arguing the salary cap needs to be lifted to ensure high-caliber candidates would run.

And Clay voters overwhelmingly approved the continuation of a 1-mill property tax levied by the school district to fund teacher salaries and hire school safety officers. The tax equals $1 for every $1,000 of property value. Nearly 78% of voters approved of the measure.