By Beacon Staff
The Des Moines County Supervisors approved salary hikes for county officials Tuesday, Feb. 1, during the Board of Supervisors meeting.
Des Moines County compensation board member Dan Cahill presented a plan prepared by fellow board member Charlie Walsh during the meeting, asking for a 20 percent raise for Des Moines County Sheriff Kevin Glending and a 10 percent raise for Des Moines County Attorney Lisa Schaefer.
The board also recommended 10 percent raises for the Des Moines County auditor, Des Moines County Recorder, and Des Moines County Treasurer, as well as a 3 percent raise for the supervisors themselves.
Cahill said the raises would make the salaries commiserate to that of Iowa counties with similar-sized populations, and the “Back the Blue” law passed in 2021 specifies that the sheriff’s salary is comparable to command-level salaries at the Iowa State Patrol and city police chiefs.
The Des Moines County supervisors adopted the compensation board’s recommendations by cutting the salary hikes by 30 percent during Tuesday’s meeting.
They then voted unanimously to approve the salary hikes at the reduced percentage.
The Des Moines County Sheriff will receive a 14 percent pay increase, raising his salary from $108,372 to $123,544.
The Des Moines County Attorney will get a seven percent pay increase, raising her salary from $122,011 to $130,551.
The Des Moines County auditor, county recorder, and county treasurer will all receive seven percent pay raises.
The auditor’s salary will increase from $76,066 to $81,390, the county recorder’s salary will increase from $76,066 to $81,390, and the county treasurer’s salary will be raised from $75,359 to $80, 643.
The Des Moines County Supervisors — Shane McCampbell, Jim Cary, and Tom Broeker — will each receive a 2.1 percent raise, raising their salaries from $40,506 to 41,356.