Polk County supervisors, who make more than Iowa's governor, give themselves another raise

Despite dissenting votes, the Polk County Board of Supervisors has decided to give itself another pay raise — just like it has every year for at least the past 16 years.

The 4% raise also will go to the rest of the county government's elected officials. It is set to take effect in the fiscal year that begins in July.

The 3-2 vote Tuesday, with members Steve Van Oort and Matt McCoy opposed, will hike the supervisors' salaries to $149,290, from $143,548.

The Polk supervisors' pay already was the highest for a county board in Iowa and well in excess of those for boards in similar-sized Midwestern counties the compensation panel used for comparison. They also eclipse Gov. Kim Reynolds' $130,000 annual pay.

The highest-paid Polk official will continue to be County Attorney Kimberly Graham, with an annual salary of $255,136.

The vote followed a unanimous recommendation by the Polk County Compensation Board, which said the across-the-board raise for elected officials is needed to keep up with inflation. County employees in Teamsters Local 238 and AFSCME Local 1868 are getting a 4% increase, as well, based on negotiated contracts through 2027, according to information provided to the compensation board.

Elected officials in the county have received raises every fiscal year since 2010-11, including an increase of 6% for county supervisors last year — the largest in a decade. On average, the supervisors have received a nearly 3.7% bump in salary annually over the past decade, a period when salaries for many Americans were stagnant.

Van Oort told the Des Moines Register he voted against the raise because the county needs to "hold the line," adding he didn't think constituents would appreciate the pay increase.

More: Big raises put pay for Polk elected officials above those in larger counties, state-level jobs

What does the Polk County Board of Supervisors do?

In Polk County, the board of supervisors meets about twice a month to consider and act upon official county business and approve staff appointments, according to the county's website. It also holds work sessions every week where it consults with staff and discusses future agendas.

The board's most important power is its ability to set the county budget, through which it monitors and corrects "inefficiencies" in all county departments, according to the website.

All board members, who are considered full-time employees, should be available to their constituents on a "full-time basis," the website says.

In addition to the five supervisors and Graham, Polk's elected officials are the sheriff, treasurer, recorder and auditor. They receive health, dental and vision insurance and mileage reimbursement.

They also are eligible to participate in the county's deferred compensation program, which bolsters their savings for retirement and includes a contribution from the county, according to an employee manual for county elected officials.

Why are Polk County elected officials getting a 4% raise in salary?

The compensation board, made up of representatives of each of the elected officers as well as two for the supervisors, voted to recommend the 4% raises in a meeting in late January. A transcript shows that a few of the members expressed concern the 4% hike was too small.

Jennifer Galloway, a board member representing Graham, said she was hoping for 4.5%, which would be closer to last fiscal year's amount, adding even with that increase, the county attorney's pay fell short of that of the Des Moines city attorney.

County Administrator John Norris, however, told the board the county could face a $4 million to $5 million shortfall in the next two years, which he blamed on state legislation last year that imposed sweeping property tax cuts, reining in local governments' revenue growth.

Norris added, "And that could get worse."

More: Iowa lawmakers vote to pass $100M property tax cut, with breaks for seniors, veterans

Joseph Quinn, an attorney representing the supervisors, proposed the 4% raise the board ultimately approved, saying it was in line with inflation this year, which is down from last year's.

"Just seems to me to be a good number, essentially something lower than what we did last year, but I thought something in line with cost of living," Quinn told the board.

After Graham, Sheriff Kevin Schneider will be the next-highest earner among county elected officials in the coming fiscal year, receiving $212,300. The county auditor, recorder and treasurer, like the supervisors, will each make $149,290.

According to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average national wage rose 2.8% from June 2022 to July 2023. Over the last 12 months, the consumer price index — which measures the average change in prices paid by consumers for a representative basket of goods — rose 3.1%.

Polk County officials' pay eclipses that of governor, elected officials from similar-sized Midwest counties

For the fifth year in a row, all elected officials' salaries in Polk County will exceed that of the governor, whose salary is capped by the Iowa Legislature at $130,000.

The state attorney general's salary is $123,669 and the secretary of state, auditor, treasurer and lieutenant governor earn $103,212, according to compensation board information.

Among elected board officials in the peer Midwestern counties that the compensation panel considered, the highest-paid was the chair of the County Board in Kane County, Illinois, who receives $105,328. The board's 24 part-time members get $26,010 apiece.

A suburb of Chicago, Kane County has a population of 514,182, compared with Polk's 501,089, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's July 2022 population estimates.

The highest-paid elected official in Kane is the sheriff, who makes $163,200 and is projected to get a 2% salary increase in the 2024-25 fiscal year. It's not possible to compare pay for Illinois county attorneys, called state's attorneys, who are compensated differently.

Also receiving six-figure salaries were the full-time county commissioners in Sedgwick County, Kansas, home of Wichita, and Ramsey County, Minnesota, a Minneapolis suburb ― though at $104,572 and $101,280, respectively, they are paid about 25% to 30% less than the Polk supervisors.

In Douglas County, Nebraska, population 586,327 and home Omaha, the seven part-time county commissioners receive $61,310 per year.

As in Polk County, the Douglas County attorney is the highest-paid elected official, making $234,202, and is projected to get a 3.5% raise in the upcoming fiscal year.

The lowest-paid board members on the list of peer counties were the 37 part-time supervisors in Dane County, Wisconsin, population 568,203, home of Madison, who make just $11,423 apiece.

Des Moines Register reporters Kevin Baskin and Lee Rood contributed to this story.

Virginia Barreda is the Des Moines city government reporter for the Register. She can be reached at vbarreda@dmreg.com. Follow her on Twitter at @vbarreda2. 

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Polk County supervisors approve 4% raise for county elected officials