Jefferson County Commissioners Set Salaries for Elected Officials

Jefferson County Commissioners held a vote Tuesday, December 30, to set salaries for elected officials. The increases would be effective in 2027 and be for the next four fiscal years.The final vote was to give a five percent raise the first year and four percent each of the following years, except for commissioners.Board of Commissioners Chair Mark Schoenrock said, “Well, I have a thought concerning the commissioners. I think the commissioners’ salary should just stay flat. I think that is a statement for the commissioners recognizing our budget challenge that we’ve got right now.”Schoenrock said, “Your motivation to do this job as a commissioner should be public service. It should not be for financial remuneration.”The other commissioners agreed. The VoteThe vote was not unanimous. Commissioner Danielle Schwab opposed the motion.Over the last several years, Jefferson County, like most other local governments, has been forced to raise salaries in order to attract and retain employees. Finding people willing to run for elected offices, especially in rural areas, is becoming increasingly difficult. For example, Jefferson County Attorney Joseph Casson also serves as County Attorney for Thayer County because no other candidates filed for either position. This has created significant strain on local budgets.Commissioner Michael Dux originally made a motion to raise salaries by five percent the first year, followed by 3.5 each following year, but that motion died for lack of a second.“If we did 5-4-4-4,” said Schoenrock. “That puts us roughly equivalent to what NACO (Nebraska Association of County Officials) set for the benchmark.”Dux explained the reason for five percent the first year, rather than four percent for each year, “There is a filing fee (to run for office), and the filing fee is one percent of the salary, and so that’s why many of the counties will have an increase the first year is for the filing fee.”Dux made a motion to increase salaries by five percent for the first year and four percent for each following year. Schoenrock seconded. The vote passed. Schwab voted against the motion and Dux said, “You did the same thing on the budget,” referring to the fact that, while she voted against the motion, she did not propose any numbers herself.Schwab said, “I am trying to explain that I don’t think we can sustain these numbers. I made that clear. I did a lot of work on it, and I’ve explained.”After the meeting, she posted a statement of Facebook:“Over the past several weeks, I spent significant time preparing for the Board’s decision on elected-official salaries for 2027–2030.“I want to briefly share how I approached that vote and why I ultimately took the position I did.“By law, these salaries are set once for a four-year period, not adjusted annually. That means the structure we adopt carries forward regardless of future budget conditions, which made the long-term impact especially important to me.“In preparing, I reviewed: Jefferson County’s recent budget trends and margin changes projected risks and reduced flexibility going forward peer counties’ salary structures in context (valuation, levy, and capacity) statewide guidance from the Nebraska Association of County Officials’ salary committee, representing counties of varying size and capacity“One of my biggest considerations was sustainability. Our budget margin has narrowed in recent years. That doesn’t mean raises can’t happen and are not deserved — it means long-term commitments need to be weighed carefully so we don’t create pressure that later shows up as levy increases, service reductions, or emergency decisions.“I also separated issues that often get blended together: workload vs. pay (workload challenges are often better addressed through staffing and operations), and peer comparisons vs. county capacity (what another county can afford doesn’t automatically translate to what Jefferson County can sustain).“I have respect for the work our elected officials do and the responsibility each office carries. My focus in this decision was not on any individual, but on setting a structure that works across all offices and aligns with the county’s long-term obligations.“My responsibility as a commissioner is to make decisions I can defend not just today, but years from now, to taxpayers and future boards.”FJN asked Schwab what amounts she would have voted for. She did not respond as of press time.Consumer Price IndexThere was considerable debate during the meeting and one of the topics discussed was the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The Bureau of Labor Statistics defines CPI as “a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services.” CPI is an indicator of increases to the cost of living and is taken into consideration when setting salaries. For example, on December 18, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced CPI for all items (food, energy, shelter, etc.) roses 2.7 percent over 12 months ending in November.“Just to give the consumer price index some perspective, in the last four years, we had salaries set here. We had a three and a half percent increase per year over that period of time. The Consumer Price Index went up by 19 point something. So, it’s around five percent a year,” County Attorney Joseph Casson explained. “Whether that’s going to continue or not, it’s all guesswork.”Case LoadsAlso needing to be taken into consideration when setting salaries are the case loads of officials.Shawna Taylor, Clerk of the District Court in Jefferson County, compared the work load of Jefferson County to other counties.“Thayer County, their case load is 7,907, and this is an average over five years,” said Taylor. “The average case load for Jefferson County is 23,738. Saline County, their case load is 4,106. In Fillmore County, there’s their caseload is 9,192.”Taylor did not include the case load of Gage County, “Because I didn’t feel it was comparable, because their town is bigger, their population.”Taylor also referred to a comparability study done by the Nebraska Association of County Officials (NACO), “It says a case load for county officials, include attorneys, public defenders and clerk of District Court should be given consideration when establishing salaries.”“I think for let’s call them the courthouse offices, like the Clerk, Treasurer, Assessor, Clerk of District Court, I really think that that needs to stay at the same base, because they’re all full time, continuously operating statutory offices,” said Schwab. “I do think that our Clerk of the District Court has an unusual caseload. But, again, I’m not sure that that is something that is handled through the base pay. That would be more of a staffing or operations thing, in my opinion, than a base pay thing.”Other CountiesCommissioner Mark Schoenrock said, “So, I would point out that (salaries in) both Saline County and Gage County, they are considerably higher than where we’re at right now. Gages County, as of 2026, their elected officials are at $94,004 48. Saline County is at $94,003.50 so both of them are considerably higher than Jefferson. But when I spoke with both of their county chairmen yesterday, they have significant competition with Lancaster County and with the City of Lincoln, so they have to keep it higher salary structure because of that competition.”Schwab pointed out, “They also have higher valuation and lower levy.”Gage County Supervisors to set raises for elected officials at a meeting on Wednesday, December 24. The salaries voted on will become effective in 2027 after the upcoming elections, through 2030. Supervisors opted to give the majority a six percent raise in 2028, five percent in 2029 and four percent in 2030.

Schoenrock Files For Dist. 32

Holding The Line

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