TOWNER (AP) - A McHenry County commissioner is fighting a pay raise.

Vern Kongslie, a county commissioner from Towner, objects to the size of the raise approved earlier this week for him and other county commissioners.

"I don't think this is right. I don't think you should give yourselves over a 6 percent increase when you are only giving the other employees and elected officials a 3- to 4-percent raise," Kongslie said.

The McHenry County Commission approved the 2008 budget Tuesday, but Kongslie said he plans to bring up the issue again.

"I intend to pursue this further and, hopefully, I can get the commissioners to change their minds about this," he said.

The 2008 budget includes $100-a-month increases for county employees other than commissioners, which works out to 3 percent to 4 percent of existing salaries. The budget provides for a $50-a-month raise for commissioners, the equivalent of a 6 percent raise on their $822-a-month salaries.

County employees have full health insurance coverage that amounts to an $817-a-month benefit on a family policy.

Commission Chairman Maurice "Bill" Goodwin of Anamoose said the county's salary for commissioners is comparable to other counties. He said the family insurance benefit is misleading because commissioners may be on single policies or may not take the county insurance.

"I don't think they are out of line," Goodwin said of the raises. "You have to have somebody to run for these jobs, and if you don't offer anything, they are not going to run."

McHenry commissioners and other employees got a 3 percent wage increase in 2007.

Kongslie compared the total salary and benefit package to Ward County, where commissioners receive about $1,017 a month and a family health insurance benefit equal to about $531 a month, or 65 percent of a policy's cost.

McHenry County commissioners already get $1,639 a month in wages and benefits for their part-time job compared to $1,548 for Ward County commissioners, Kongslie said.

"Now they are going to turn around and give themselves another $50. I think that's an excessive increase," he said. "Commissioners should be fairly compensated for their duties, but let's be fair on it."

Commissioners' salaries in some area counties other than Ward range from $700 to $876 for counties that offer health benefits, to $958 a month in a county without that benefit. The statewide average salary, not considering benefits, is $893 a month.

With the raises, McHenry's 2008 budget of just over $5 million is down 2.5 percent due to the completion of a federal grant that has funded a sheriff's deputy.