York County commissioners approve multi-year salary schedule for elected officials
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Summary
After extended public discussion, the York County Board of Commissioners adopted Resolution 26-4 setting staggered, multi-year salary increases for several elected offices through 2030, including a phased raise for the county attorney, sheriff and public defender.
The York County Board of Commissioners voted to adopt Resolution 26-4, a multi-year salary schedule that sets new base pay and phased increases for several elected county offices through 2030.
The measure, which the board debated in public for more than an hour, sets the surveyor’s pay at $20,000 for the next four-year term. It sets base pay for the county clerk, county assessor, district court clerk and county treasurer to $78,025 in 2027 with step increases across the 2027–2030 cycle. The public defender’s salary was set at $115,000 (no step increases were proposed for that office), the sheriff’s starting salary was set to begin at $117,500 with annual increases aimed to reach $125,000 by 2030, and the county attorney’s salary was set to start at $127,500 with stepped increases to reach $135,000 in 2030.
Commissioners described two approaches during debate: front-loading larger increases immediately versus spreading raises over the four-year term. Commissioner Joe Burgess urged gradual steps to make the increases “easier to swallow,” while others argued that higher starting salaries would make the county more competitive for experienced candidates in offices that frequently require licensed attorneys, such as the county attorney and public defender.
County Attorney Gary Olson advised including language that preserves the public defender and county attorney as full-time positions with limits on outside private practice. The approved resolution includes language that the county attorney and public defender remain full-time positions with no outside private practice allowed except as authorized by the judicial system and that public defenders should follow state statute to the extent they are legally and ethically obligated.
The resolution also clarifies that if the board contracts with an elected official to administer general assistance, that contract will not change the adopted base salary but may provide an additional payment not to exceed $1,500 per year.
The final text of Resolution 26-4 and its accompanying spreadsheet lay out year-by-year amounts for 2027–2030. The motion to adopt the resolution passed on roll call with a majority of commissioners voting in favor.
