Pay increases recommended for county employees

The Wright County Compensation Commission has recommended large pay increases for elected county officials starting July 1, 2022.

The recommendations will be acted upon by the board of supervisors. The supervisors can vote to follow the recommendations, lower them all, but cannot vote to raise them.
 

Recommendations:

Supervisors
This year       $40,845
Next year      $46,971
Increase        15%
 

Sheriff
This year       $90,930
Next year      $123,665
Increase        36%
 

Attorney
This year       $90,664
Next year      $111,064
Increase        22.5%
 

Auditor, Recorder
Treasurer
This year       $67,485
Next year       $82,670
Increase        22.5%
 

The compensation committee met Dec. 16 in Clarion. Members attending were Deb Vance, Chad Foust, Gary Berkland, Mike Ewing, Carol Haupt, Wendy Brandt and Marty Schumann.

Other persons attending were Auditor Betty Ellis, Treasurer Peggy Schluttenhofer, Sheriff Jason Schluttenhofer, Recorder Denise Baker, and Supervisor Karl Helgevold.

The large pay increases were sparked by a bill passed in the Iowa Legislature last year that said county sheriffs should be paid similarly to state law enforcement officials. This meant most counties would have to raise sheriff salaries. That led many county compensation committees to also suggest large pay raises for other elected officials.

No state funding was offered to offset the cost of the new rule.