50.343.  Compensation of certain officers, how computed (St. Charles, Clay, Jefferson, Greene and certain other counties). — 1.  Other provisions of law to the contrary notwithstanding, in any first classification nonchartered county, including any county containing any part of a city with a population of three hundred thousand or more, the annual salary of a county recorder of deeds, clerk, auditor, county commissioner, collector, treasurer, assessor or salaried public administrator may be computed on an assessed valuation basis, without regard to modification due to the existence of enterprise zones or financing under chapter 100, as set forth in the following schedule except as provided in subsection 2 of this section.  The assessed valuation factor shall be the amount thereof as shown for the year next preceding the computation.  The provisions of this section shall not permit a reduction in the amount of compensation being paid on January 1, 1997, for any of the offices subject to this section on January 1, 1997.

  (1)  For a recorder of deeds, clerk, auditor, presiding commissioner, collector, treasurer, assessor, or salaried public administrator:

  (2)  Presiding commissioners shall receive a salary of two thousand dollars more than the salary received by the associate commissioners.

  2.  After December 31, 1990, in any county of the second classification which becomes a first classification county without a charter form of government, the annual compensation of county recorder of deeds, clerk, auditor, county commissioner, collector, treasurer, assessor and the public administrator in counties where the public administrator is paid a salary under the provisions of section 473.740 may be set at the option of the salary commission.  On or before October first of the year immediately prior to the beginning of the county fiscal year following the general election after the certification by the state equalizing agency that the county possesses an assessed valuation placing it in first classification status, the salary commission shall meet for the purpose of setting compensation for such county officials and such compensation shall be payable immediately except that no compensation of any county official shall be reduced and the compensation of presiding county commissioners in any of such counties shall be two thousand dollars more than the compensation paid to the associate commissioners in that county.  Thereafter in all such counties the salary commission shall meet for the purpose of setting the compensation of the officers in this subsection who will be elected at the next general election, and such compensation shall be payable upon the beginning of the next term of office of such officers; except that, no compensation of any officer shall be reduced and the compensation of presiding county commissioners in any of such counties shall be two thousand dollars more than the compensation paid to the associate commissioners in that county.  Two thousand dollars of the compensation established under the procedures authorized pursuant to this subsection shall be payable to a county officer only if the officer has completed at least twenty hours of classroom instruction in the operation of the office in the same manner as provided by law for officers subject to the provisions of section 50.333.  At the salary commission meeting which establishes the percentage rate to be applied to county officers during the next term of office, the salary commission may authorize the further adjustment of such officers' compensation as a cost-of-living component and effective January first of each year, the compensation for county officers may be adjusted by the county commission, not to exceed the percentage increase given to the other county employees.

  3.  Other provisions of this section to the contrary notwithstanding, at the option of a majority of the county salary commission members, the salary of associate commissioners of a county of the first classification without a charter form of government with a population of at least eighty-two thousand but not more than eighty-five thousand inhabitants may be set at no more than sixty-five percent of the amount on the salary schedule for the county affected.