LANE COUNTY, Ore. -- Lane County Commissioners are able to set their own salaries, but at a meeting Tuesday, they talked about changing that procedure in light of the down economy.

County commissioners are thinking about changing their charter to gauge their wages by using the consumer price index (CPI).

Currently, commissioners fix their own salaries under their own charter.  But they are marking it up to reflect a one year adjustment based on third quarter CPI from the Portland-Metro Area.

Their pay cap would be at whatever level the compensation board recommends for other local leaders.

Commissioners said this needs to be done.

"We want it to make sense what we're doing, we want it to be inscrutible so that there's no lack of accountability," Rob Handy said.

Commissioner Bill Fleenor said, "I think that would be fair and it would certainly send a message to our citizens that we are tracking the economy and we are being responsive."

The commissioners did vote on a two percent raise that would have been effective January next year.  So, they said if the charter changes get on a ballot next year, and voters pass them, the commissioners' pay will roll back to what it was December 2009.

The commissioners are also looking at creating a review committee to look at their complete charter.  It would convene every decade, coinciding with the census.

The commissioners will tackle this issue again Nov. 24.