Black Hawk County supervisors approve pay increases for nonbargaining staff, adopt HR pay recommendation for elected officials during budget work session

Black Hawk County supervisors on Feb. 27 approved a 3.25% across-the-board increase for nonbargaining employees and non‑elected directors and accepted a human resources recommendation to raise several elected officials’ salaries, while continuing budget discussions about levy levels, fund balance trends and community grants.

The board voted to raise the county’s property-tax asking in the worksheets being used for this budget cycle, discussed options for nonbargaining merit increases and elected-official pay, and directed staff to continue work on capital-bonding language and a preliminary levy schedule that would accommodate a first-year debt service payment on a proposed bond issue.

County staff told supervisors the current property-tax asking in the draft budget assumes collections 5% higher than last year, and presented per-property examples so taxpayers can estimate impacts. “An urban residential property would have an increase of about $4.21 per $120,000 of their assessed value,” staff said during the presentation. Commercial and industrial property classes showed smaller percentage increases in the packet presented to the board.

On pay, supervisors chose between alternative approaches presented by human resources. The board approved a motion to set the nonbargaining annual increase at 3.25% for affected nonbargaining employees and for non‑elected director positions; the motion was carried by voice vote. The county had presented other options, including a weighted average tied to bargaining-unit settlements (3.33%) and higher alternatives that staff had modeled for comparison.

Separately, the board voted 4–1 to accept a human resources package for elected officials that included a 10% proposed increase for several elected offices (treasurer, recorder, auditor and sheriff) and a 5% increase for the county attorney, with one additional directive: the board approved an amendment to align the recorder’s and treasurer’s salaries with the auditor’s. Board member Chris made the motion to accept the human resources recommendation with that alignment; the motion passed 4–1 after discussion about market comparisons and the county’s historical pay position.

Supervisors also debated a $40,000 reallocation for sheriff vehicle maintenance, asked for more input from absent members and tabled that specific decision to the next work session. Staff flagged limited historical data on sheriff vehicle repair costs and said the proposed $40,000 move would shift part of the maintenance burden from the general fund to the rural levy; the board left the item to be revisited with more information.

On community funding, board members moved to set aside $100,000 of the general levy for community grants in fiscal 2026 and to keep prior commitments already approved (a $50,000 allocation to the local food pantry and $25,000 for fair marketing). The motion to reserve the $100,000 from the general levy was seconded and carried by voice vote; staff said applications and reporting requirements will be used to allocate the fund.

Staff also briefed the board on two reserve- and fund‑balance matters: an ongoing decline in revenue for the county’s attorney fine-collection project (which has been used in part to fund a deputy position), and an overall trend of reduced unassigned general-fund balance in recent years after several large one-time revenue gains and planned commitments. Staff said the county’s standard practice of including a turnover (payroll-savings) assumption in the budget remains in place but noted the county may need to use fund balance for some one-time capital and equipment needs if bonding options are not available.

On capital, staff recommended moving ahead with a preliminary levy/bonding schedule to allow the county to include a first-year debt service payment for a proposed $5 million bond issue in this budget’s levy calculations. Staff said legal steps remain before sale but requested authority to prepare the levy language and repayment estimates so the county can preserve flexibility.

The board scheduled follow-up discussion for the next budget work session on Tuesday to finalize several open items, including the sheriff vehicle-maintenance allocation.

Votes at a glance

- Nonbargaining pay increase (3.25% for nonbargaining employees and non‑elected directors): motion approved by voice vote (no roll-call tally recorded).

- Human resources recommendation for elected-official salaries (10% for treasurer/recorder/auditor/sheriff; 5% for county attorney) with direction to align the recorder and treasurer to the auditor’s salary: motion passed 4–1 (tally recorded in meeting: yes 4, no 1).

- Community funding reserve: motion to set aside $100,000 from the general levy for community grants in fiscal 2026: motion approved by voice vote (no roll-call tally recorded).

- Sheriff vehicle maintenance reallocation ($40,000): discussion held; board tabled decision to next work session (no final vote).

What changed and what’s next

Supervisors approved payroll increases and a targeted elected-official pay package intended to move leadership salaries closer to peer counties. Staff will return to the board with more precise fund allocations for the approved pay decisions, the tabling outcome on sheriff vehicle maintenance, and a follow-up on revenue trends for the attorney fine-collection fund. The board’s next budget work session is scheduled for Tuesday, when members expect to finalize remaining levy allocations and capital decisions.

Direct quotes in this report come from meeting remarks recorded in the board’s Feb. 27 budget work session transcript.