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Clay County approves 4% COLA and several pay increases, including sheriff’s raise
Summary
The Board approved a 4% cost‑of‑living adjustment for 2026 and approved market adjustments for the sheriff, chief assistant county attorneys and the county attorney; specific dollar amounts will be set in a formal resolution next week.
The Clay County Board on Tuesday approved a 4% cost‑of‑living adjustment for county employees and voted to authorize additional market-based pay adjustments for several elected and appointed offices.
Human-resources and finance staff presented the 4% COLA proposal, noting it is in line with comparable counties’ averages and is already budgeted. Commissioners approved the 4% COLA by voice vote.
The sheriff, who said he is entering his eighth year in the office, asked the board for a salary adjustment tied to increased responsibilities and recent staffing growth. Commissioners discussed applying a 10% market adjustment plus the 4% COLA — described in the meeting as roughly a 14% total increase — and approved a motion directing staff to prepare a statutory resolution with the exact dollar figure for the sheriff’s salary at the board’s next meeting.
Sheriff Marty described expanded duties and higher turnover that increase administrative workload and said the requested adjustment had been included in his 2026 budget. "The responsibility of this office have grown substantially," he told commissioners.
The chief assistant county attorney (named two chief assistants, Pam Foss and Katie Stock) described a multi‑year market shift after state public‑defender pay increases and requested margin adjustments to retain staff. The board authorized moving the chief assistants up one grade with step adjustments and approved the county attorney’s requested adjustment as budgeted; the county attorney said he would present the final figures for the board’s statutory resolution.
What this means: board members said the increases are meant to keep Clay County competitive in recruitment and retention, and administration emphasized the adjustments are budgeted and that the board will record exact salaries in a resolution to meet statutory posting requirements.
Next steps: administration will prepare and publish the formal resolution with exact dollar amounts and statutory language at the next board meeting.
