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County HR recommends 10% pay bump for elected officials, 5% for county attorney; board to decide
Summary
Human resources recommended a 10 percent across-the-board increase for elected officials to move salaries closer to market; the county attorney's position was proposed for a smaller 5 percent adjustment.
Black Hawk County's human-resources director presented Feb. 11 a recommendation to raise elected-official pay next fiscal year by 10 percent for most elected positions and 5 percent for the county attorney, citing market comparisons to similarly sized Iowa counties.
The HR presentation explained how state law assigns responsibility for setting elected-official pay and summarized recent market data from the top 10 Iowa counties by population. HR said the county's auditor, recorder, treasurer and sheriff currently sit roughly 15 percent below the market averages used in the comparison and that the county attorney's salary is closer to parity.
Why it matters: Elected-official pay is set annually as part of the county budget process. HR told the board that a larger one-time increase is a common approach when local pay lags market rates so the county can improve competitiveness for leadership roles and reduce turnover.
HR director Amanda Fezenmeyer walked the board through statutory requirements for the county compensation board and noted that the board of supervisors is performing the compensation-board duties this year after the county's prior compensation board was dissolved. The presentation included a five-year history of compensation-board recommendations and board actions.
Several elected officials spoke to the board. County Recorder Sandy Smith thanked HR and the board for recent movement toward market alignment and described the recorder's office workload and revenue-generating services, including passports. Sheriff's office representatives said they appreciated the attention to public-safety pay and asked the board to be mindful of market pressure for sworn positions.
Cost and next steps: HR estimated the total wage and benefit cost for the recommended increase and noted that the county's budget worksheets already include other general wage assumptions. The HR director asked the board for guidance so staff can finalize the budget impact and incorporate the board's chosen compensation schedule into the recommended budget.
Ending: No final compensation decision was made at the meeting. Board members asked for additional detail about statewide ranks and the budgetary impact of the recommendation before taking action.
