Iowa AG: Sheriffs must be paid comparably to state, city law enforcement leaders

DES MOINES — Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird says county officials are legally required to set sheriff salaries using a specific comparison framework established under the state’s 2021 “Back the Blue” law, clarifying that pay must align with certain municipal and state law enforcement leadership roles.

Bird issued the formal opinion Monday in response to a request from Ringgold County Attorney Michael T. Wells and Wayne County Attorney Alan Wilson, who sought guidance on how county boards should apply Iowa law when determining sheriff compensation.

At the center of the opinion is Iowa Code section 331.907, as amended by the Legislature in 2021 and refined in 2024. Bird concluded the statute removes much of the discretion counties previously held and instead mandates that sheriffs’ salaries be set within a schedule that is comparable to law enforcement counterparts at the city and state levels, including police chiefs serving cities with populations similar to the county and command officers of the Iowa State Patrol and the Division of Criminal Investigation.

“The clear, plain, and unambiguous language” of the statute requires counties to set sheriff pay so it is comparable to those positions, Bird wrote, adding that county supervisors generally may not approve salaries below that comparable range unless the sheriff position has been reduced to part-time status.

The opinion explains that earlier court precedent allowed broader flexibility in determining prevailing wages. However, the legislature’s changes replaced language allowing boards to merely consider comparable salaries with language requiring those comparisons to be used in setting pay.

That shift reflects a legislative intent to narrow salary gaps between elected sheriffs and other law enforcement leaders, according to the opinion. Salary surveys cited in the document indicate the average sheriff salary rose about 44 percent statewide — from roughly $87,000 in fiscal year 2020 to about $125,000 in fiscal year 2026 — following enactment of the law.

Bird also addressed how a 2024 tax omnibus bill affects the process. Senate File 2442 abolished county compensation boards statewide but allows counties to reestablish them. If a county chooses not to maintain such a board, the board of supervisors assumes those duties — including the same statutory obligation to base sheriff pay on the mandated comparisons.

Regardless of the structure a county uses, Bird wrote, officials must document how they arrived at the compensation schedule and demonstrate that the required salary comparisons were applied.

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