Banner County panel approves 2026 COLA for officials, debates multi-year salary schedule

The Banner County Board of Commissioners voted to adopt a 3.5% cost-of-living adjustment for elected officials and their deputies for 2026 and spent the bulk of its Jan. 8 meeting drafting a multi-year pay plan for elected offices.

Commissioner Don Lease moved the motion to set the 2026 COLA at 3.5% for elected officials and their deputies; the motion was seconded and carried on a roll-call vote. The board then debated a separate proposal to increase elected-official salaries by 5% beginning Jan. 1, 2027, for the 2027–2030 term. That proposal prompted sustained discussion about whether a larger increase (7.5%–10%) would be needed to retain staff and make county positions competitive with neighboring jurisdictions.

Members emphasized that benefits factor heavily into total compensation. One commissioner said Banner County is “one of very few counties that paid full family for employees,” an observation used by supporters of a more modest salary increase to argue the county’s benefits partially offset lower base pay.

County staff and the county attorney walked the board through draft language for Resolution 26-10, which the board used to map specific starting salaries for each elected office for the 2027–2030 term. The draft text printed during the meeting listed proposed annual salaries (examples in the draft: treasurer at $54,469.91; county clerk package including district court/register of deeds/election commission at $58,069.91; assessor at $54,004.69; sheriff at $61,535.13; county attorney at $19,643.52; county surveyor at $3,449.73; commissioner at $12,580.52). The board instructed staff to finalize the resolution language and numbers for the formal resolution packet.

Board members also discussed whether the resolution’s insurance language would lock the county into a specific health plan. County counsel explained the paragraph is intended to allow elected officials to participate in the same group health plan as county employees and to preserve the board’s ability to change program provisions; members suggested altering wording from “provide” to “offer” or otherwise clarifying the board’s discretion to modify benefits in future years.

The meeting produced two definitive outcomes recorded on the transcript: (1) approval of a 3.5% 2026 cost-of-living adjustment for elected officials and their deputies; and (2) direction to staff to prepare final resolution language for Resolution 26-10 reflecting the board’s discussions and proposed salary figures. Commissioners who argued for larger increases said they would press for higher percentages in future sessions; those favoring more modest increases cited the county’s benefits and budget constraints.

Next steps: staff will prepare final resolution language and spreadsheets reflecting the board’s direction for formal adoption at a subsequent meeting; the board also tasked county administrators to produce updated budget impacts and to reconcile deputy salary percentages tied to elected-official pay.