Waseca County board adopts 7% sheriff salary increase, pushes for more transparency and regular updates

Waseca County commissioners approved a 7% increase to the sheriff's base salary and directed greater transparency and regular reporting from the sheriff's office.

Speaker 5 opened the work session by saying the board needed "more transparency between that department and the board." The sheriff (Speaker 2) gave a status update, reporting the office is generally fully staffed with an opening in dispatch and that the office will focus on training and performance evaluations.

Board members discussed whether to use averages or medians when comparing salaries across counties. Speaker 3 asked about medians as an alternative metric; Speaker 6 replied that median can be appropriate in certain distributions but may not be decisive in the set of comparable counties used.

Regarding the salary adjustment, Speaker 5 summarized the labor subcommittee recommendation: a 7% increase (characterized as a 5% baseline plus an additional 2% to move closer to the average). Speaker 1 moved to increase the sheriff's pay by 7%; Speaker 4 seconded. The board recorded ayes and the motion carried.

Board members emphasized predictability and communication: Speaker 3 noted that by statute salaries are set year-to-year but argued county practice could include predictable steps and regular reporting that help planning for the levy and staff expectations. Commissioners asked that the sheriff provide at least periodic activity sheets and subcommittee meetings be scheduled more regularly, particularly with the Justice Center project upcoming.

Next steps: Staff will implement the salary increase and the board requested ongoing monthly or regular summaries from the sheriff's office to improve oversight. No personnel-level operational directives were changed in this vote; the board framed the action as an administrative compensation adjustment paired with a request for more frequent engagement.