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Pennington County raises elected state's attorney salary to $158,340 after months of debate
Summary
After extensive public and commissioner discussion about timing and precedent, the Pennington County Board of Commissioners voted to increase the county state's attorney's 2025 salary to $158,340, effective Jan. 5, 2025. The move followed an HR recommendation and drew one dissenting vote.
The Pennington County Board of Commissioners voted Jan. 7 to raise the 2025 annual salary for the county's elected state's attorney, Laura Retzel, to $158,340, effective Jan. 5, 2025.
The increase followed a recommendation from Carol Bancroft, the county human resources director, who told commissioners the figure was based on a comparative market study and the county's compensation philosophy and noted parity between the sheriff and the state's attorney positions. Bancroft told the board the recommended salary aligns the state's attorney with the sheriff's compensation level and supports retention and fairness.
Retzel, who was appointed in 2023 and later elected, described multiple prior requests to be considered for a pay adjustment and said she had been advised previously to wait until after election to pursue a salary change. She also told the board she runs a tight office budget and expects to absorb the change within existing salary lines despite current vacancies.
Commissioners debated timing, precedent and budget impact for more than an hour. Some members said the increase should have been considered during the 2025 budget process or at earlier wage-study sessions; others argued market comparators and Retzel's prosecutorial workload justified the raise and proposed a higher figure.
After discussion and substitute motions, the board approved the HR recommendation. The motion to set Retzel's salary at $158,340, effective Jan. 5, 2025, carried with one dissent; the meeting record shows one recorded opposing voice and no roll-call link naming the dissenter.
The board also approved a separate but related resolution, the "Pennington County elected officials wage policy resolution" that implements the 2025 salary setting for elected officials; that resolution passed during the same meeting.
Why it matters: The state's attorney is the county's lead prosecutor and a key public-safety official; compensation affects recruitment, retention and office capacity. Commissioners expressed interest in greater transparency about how and when elected-official pay changes are proposed and voted.
What the public heard: Speakers at the meeting and commissioners raised two recurrent themes: fairness to other county employees and the importance of timing (whether changes should be presented during the budget process). HR argued the market study supports the recommendation; Retzel described prior direction to wait for an election before pursuing a pay change.
Next steps: The state's attorney's office will record the salary change as effective Jan. 5, 2025. Commissioners also directed the county attorney's office to research and report on open-meetings and agenda practices related to wage decisions (see separate item on board procedures).
Votes and formal actions recorded at the meeting included approval of the salary increase and adoption of the wage-policy resolution; specific tallies recorded in the meeting minutes show the salary motion carried with four votes in favor, one opposed.
Speakers quoted in this article spoke during the Jan. 7 meeting and are identified in the meeting record.
