Supervisors consider raises for themselves, other county officials

County supervisors across Iowa will decide over the next few weeks whether they – and other elected officials – get a raise this year, and how it should be.

As part of their budget-writing process for the fiscal year that starts July 1, supervisors are considering salary recommendations from their county's compensation board, the panel that recommends salaries for elected officials: supervisors, sheriff, attorney, auditor, recorder, and treasurer.

Each county's seven-member compensation board includes two members appointed by supervisors and one named by each of the other elected officials. Compensation board members, who themselves aren't compensated, serve four-year staggered terms.

Each year, the compensation boards “shall review the compensation paid to comparable officers in other counties of this state, other states, private enterprise, and the federal government,” according to the state code. The board then prepares a salary schedule for elected officials for the succeeding fiscal year.

The recommendation is officially submitted to the county board at its public budget hearing. Supervisors can decide only to reduce a recommended pay increase. The law also specifies pay scales for deputy officers in each department headed by an elected official at percentages of their department heads', so those salaries are also subject to the supervisors' final decision.

Last week, the Linn County Compensation Board voted to recommend 5 percent raises for County Attorney Jerry Vander Sanden and Sheriff Brian Gardner for the fiscal year beginning July 1. County supervisors and the treasurer, auditor, and recorder would see 3.75-percent raises if the supervisors adopt the board's recommendations.