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Linn County Supervisors OK 4% wage increases for elected officials, others
A larger-than-expected budget surplus allowed for the increase, as well as the planned addition of multiple new positions.
Jan. 28, 2026 5:21 pm
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CEDAR RAPIDS — A “perfect storm” of financial factors has given Linn County leaders the necessary wiggle room to raise salaries more than originally expected in the upcoming fiscal year.
The Linn County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday voted 2-1 in favor of a 4 percent wage increase, which will apply to all of the county’s elected officials, managers and nonbargaining unit employees. Pay increases for bargaining unit employees are negotiated separately.
District 2 Supervisor Sami Scheetz characterized the increase as an acknowledgment of county employees’ hard work and dedication. He was joined by District 1 Supervisor Kirsten Running-Marquardt in approving the change.
The raise will be finalized upon supervisors’ adoption of the budget this spring, with the change set to go into effect in fiscal year 2027, which begins July 1.
“We have world-class people in this organization, and I think they deserve to be compensated as such,” Scheetz said. This increase also helps “make sure that we’re staying competitive with some of the other large public-sector employers in our community and across the region.”
District 3 Supervisor Brandy Z. Meisheid, the board’s only Republican member, was the sole “no” vote on the measure.
While also wanting to acknowledge the merits of county employees, she said she believed a more moderate 3.5 percent increase could accomplish that goal while also leaving more funds available for other county projects.
“It really comes down to capital improvement — investing in our infrastructure — as well as investing in our employees,” she said. “I want us to be able to invest in (both of) those things, and I think we can accomplish that at 3.5 percent.”
Surplus means county could add new positions
Supervisors in November had approved an initial 3.5-percent placeholder for all FY27 pay increases, noting that the figure could change depending on the findings of the overall budget process.
The county has since held more than a dozen public meetings where department heads took turns presenting their budget proposals for preliminary board approval.
Considered collectively, budget director Sara Bearrows on Wednesday said the county was looking at an anticipated surplus of roughly $637,000 for the upcoming fiscal year — markedly higher than original expectations.
Finance Director Dawn Jindrich attributed the surplus to the county having no year-over-year increases in its health or dental insurance costs in FY27, as well as the turnover of some county employees whose positions were filled by new hires who were lower on the payscale.
“It was sort of a perfect storm,” Jindrich said.
Supervisors had several options for what to do with that surplus. They could use it to increase wages beyond the 3.5 percent placeholder, put more money toward vehicle replacement requests and/or put it toward an “offer pot” to fund new county positions.
The board’s vote directed a portion of the surplus — roughly $82,000 — toward bumping up the proposed wage increase from 3.5 to 4 percent. The remainder will go toward the offer pot with supervisors set to meet Friday to discuss which positions could/should be funded.
Neither action is expected to raise the county’s levy rate, per projections from the county’s budget and finance office.
Linn County Finance Director Dawn Jindrich to retire
Linn County Finance Director Dawn Jindrich is retiring after more than 30 years of helping guide the county’s budgeting process.
Thursday is Jindrich’s last day with the county. Her role as finance director will be filled by Sara Bearrows, who most recently served as the county’s budget director.
Jindrich first joined the county as budget director in 1994 and was promoted to finance director in 2019. In that role, she helped oversee the county’s finances through several significant disruptions such as the 2020 derecho and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Her continued efforts over the years have helped the county maintain its AAA bond rating — the highest possible — from Moody’s Investor Services and the Triple Crown Medallion from the Government Finance Officers Association.
“Dawn is truly a legend (and) a leader,” Linn County Board of Supervisors Chair Kirsten Running-Marquardt said in a farewell statement. “Because of her commitment to the taxpayers of Linn County, … (she’s) made a great path forward for the county and her department.”
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