Every four years as elections approach, the county commissioners re-visit salaries earned by elected officials. This table shows what positions will be up for re-election in 2018, their current salaries, the salaries approved for 2019 by the county commissioners during their Jan. 2 meeting, the amount those salaries will increase between 2018 and 2019 and the annual salary increases the elected officials will see each year until 2022.
The Seward County Commissioners set salaries for 2019-2022 for elected offices who are up for re-election in 2018.
A majority of the discussion focused on salaries for the county attorney, sheriff, surveyor, commissioners and the budget authority.
Discussion on the salaries began at the commissioners’ Dec. 19 meeting. There, the board said some salaries, like the sheriff and the county attorney’s, are listed as a percentage of a base amount.
At the commissioners’ Jan. 2 meeting, the board set that base salary amount at $67,310 in 2019. The base salary will increase by $2,000 each year until 2022 and will reach $73,310.
The county assessor, clerk, treasurer and clerk of the district court all earn the base salary, according to the draft minutes of the Jan. 2 meeting.
The county attorney’s salary was set at 160 percent of that base salary, or $107,000 in 2019. In 2018, the county attorney made 150 percent of the base salary of $63,500, or $95,250.
The sheriff’s salary was set at 130 percent, or $87,000 in 2019. In 2018, the sheriff made 120 percent of $63,500, or $76,200.
The commissioners’ salaries remained at 43 percent, or $29,000 in 2019. In 2018, the board members will earn a salary of $27,305.
During discussion at the board’s Jan. 2 meeting, Commissioner Whitney Fleischman said the Nebraska Association of County Officials recommended the county attorney make up to 160 percent.
Fleischman said she didn’t disagree with NACO’s recommendation, but added that the board would have to explain a 10 percent increase to the public. She originally suggested setting the salary at 155 percent.
Additionally, most department’s deputies makes 80 percent of their department head’s salary, according to County Clerk Sherry Schweitzer.
One difference is that the county attorney has a chief deputy, who makes 80 percent of her salary, and a deputy, who makes 75 percent.
This means as the department head’s salary increases, so does their deputy’s.
“It’s going to affect the budget,” Fleischman said.
Commissioner Chairperson Roger Glawatz said the board needs to set a good foundation for salaries in order to insure qualified people run for elected office.
“I want to make certain they have comparable salaries,” Glawatz said.
Seward County Attorney Wendy Elston told the board she and her office go above and beyond what is normally expected of a county attorney and those actions bring in outside funding.
She said this funding comes through interlocal agreements with area villages, cities and neighboring counties and child support services that get a 66 percent reimbursement from the state. Together, those duties bring in $115,000 year.
Elston also said she manages employees who apply for grants, has responsibilities that require her to be on call 24 hours a day and has experience working for the county.
“That’s pretty invaluable,” Elston said.
Fleischman said a new county attorney would not be required to keep some of the services Elston provides.
Glawatz said it’s likely Elston could earn a higher salary as a private attorney.
The county attorney’s salary was set at 160 percent—more than a $3,000 difference from the originally-suggested 155 percent.
During a Jan. 5 interview, Fleischman said the county attorney’s salary should be more comparable to surrounding areas, like Lancaster County, to attract qualified attorneys willing to run for elected office.
After discussion on raising the county attorney’s salary, Commissioner Diana Garske said if the attorney’s salary is 160 percent, she wanted the sheriff’s salary higher as well, particularly because the sheriff has the added responsibility of managing the new Seward County Justice Center.
Fleischman had originally suggested raising the sheriff’s salary from 120 to 125 percent of the base salary. NACO’s recommendation was 125-140 percent.
After the county attorney’s salary was raised, the board decided to set the sheriff’s salary at 130 percent, a $3,000-plus increase from 125 percent, which was originally suggested.
During discussion on the county surveyor’s salary at the Dec. 19 meeting, Commissioner John Culver said the surveyor makes $6,500, which is the equivalent to $25/hour. For a surveyor, Culver said that hourly wage should be closer to $70.
Schweitzer said in the past, no one has run for the surveyor position—an elected position. This is the first time in at least 36 years the position has been filled. And the surveyor has made $6,500 for more than 20 years.
She said without a surveyor in the elected position, the county had to hire an outside firm for those services.
At the Jan. 2 meeting, Schweitzer said around $11,000 was budgeted for the surveyor and it wasn’t all spent in the past.
Fleischman said if the board increased the surveyor’s salary to $11,000, it would be a 50 percent increase that would be hard to justify.
Garske said it could be considered rectifying the salary.
Glawatz said the current surveyor has a second job and could not live off his county salary.
“It’s a little embarrassing to have a salary as low as his,” Glawatz said.
He also said the surveyor has worked to update county records and has added county survey markers.
Fleischman said she had a hard time increasing a salary more than 50 percent in one year.
“Who’s to say he runs again? And the next person doesn’t necessarily have to have all that experience,” Fleischman said. “You’re basing a salary on the position, not the person.”
At the end of the discussion, the board increased the surveyor’s salary to $10,000 for the next four years, a $3,500 increase.
At the Dec. 19 meeting, Glawatz said the budget authority earns a $6,000 salary, which has not increased for eight years.
Currently, the county clerk has been appointed to fill the budget authority position for extra compensation, according to Schweitzer, but any county official can fill that role.
Glawatz added that without the a budget authority appointed within the county, the county would have to hire outside people to serve in that position.
“It’d be more expensive than that—a lot more expensive,” Glawatz said.
On Jan. 2, the board set the budget authority’s salary to $7,000 a year for the next four years—a $1,000 increase.
