County commissioners will not raise salaries for county board in the next four years

​YORK – Every four years, the task comes around for the county commissioners to determine salaries for all elected officials. This past week, that conversation came around, as they need to determine the salaries for the county board members, surveyor, sheriff, public defender, county attorney, clerk of the district court, assessor, clerk and treasurer for the years 2027-2030.

​This must be done before filing starts for the 2026 election cycle.
While the conversation was long, it is not yet over, as the commissioners wanted two more weeks to consider options.
They did agree, however, that the county board members’ salary will not increase during that time period, compared to what it is now.
“These need to be done by Jan. 15 and I wanted to start the discussion now,” said York County Commissioner Chairman Randy Obermier.
It was noted there is a salary guideline study provided by the Nebraska Association of County Officials (NACO), which shows all the salaries for all county officials in all the counties in the state.
They also looked at past resolutions passed by previous boards regarding these salary changes, so they could see how officials’ salaries have changed over the years.
“I do want to bring up the idea how if it is a salary for a public safety official, they should have the ability to earn more money for working overtime, etc.,” said Commissioner Andy Bowman. “In this case, that would only pertain to the sheriff, as there are many times they have to work way more than 40 hours a week, they have to work nights, they have to work weekends and they might have to work holidays.”
There was a discussion about whether the ability to earn overtime pay would even be legal and it appeared that would not be an option they want to pursue – rather, they would set the salary higher to help compensate for that extra responsibility.
It was noted how, in the past, the clerk of the district court, the clerk, the treasurer and the assessor have always made the same – with the public defender, attorney and sheriff making more.
“One thing we learned at the NACO convention last week is how we have an attorney shortfall in Nebraska,” Obermier said. “We tend to pick on attorneys but there are counties where they wish they had an attorney even in their jurisdiction. And there were some counties which offered $125,000 for open county attorney positions and people coming straight out of law school said that amount wasn’t enough due to the student debt they are carrying.”
“One thing is that in the last four years, when it came to budget time and raises for the rest of the employees, we had put in fairly substantial jumps for some and then left them. So should we set the salaries and then leave them for four years?” asked Commissioner Daniel Grotz, “rather than setting increases each year for four years.”
“In looking at statistics, the median household income in York County is $74,000, so do we look at what other counties are paying or should we look at what people can make in York County in the private sector?” asked Grotz. “My brain is at setting it and leaving at that level for four years. Some of it depends on what the wage should be. And if we are giving a substantial raise, we might have to spread it out over a few years.”
“And is there a ceiling or is a wage that just keeps going up and up and up?” asked Obermier. “Is there a ceiling up there? I think there should be some form of ceiling. In the last two resolutions, they went up $16,000 and $20,000 for the attorneys and sheriff. So there have been pretty good past increases.”
“We live in a community where the ag industry plays a big part,” Grotz said. “The USDA has a metric which shows prices received versus prices paid for the ag industry and I found this interesting to look at those numbers. A lot of our taxpayers (aren’t tied to regular pay increases) which I think needs to hold some weight in our conversations.”
“We are going to get what we pay for,” Bowman said. “I appreciate the correlation to the ag sector, but that’s the world you and I choose to live in, Daniel. Overall, with my past business experiences, looking at these salaries, you wouldn’t pull the top 30% of what those companies are paying. We have to find the right levels so we have the right people protecting our county. And again, the position of sheriff is a whole different ask. We have to get right with the wages if we need to get the right people. It all boils down to we are going to get what we pay for.”
“OK, why not start with the salary for the county board members?” asked Obermier. “This last year, we split the chairman duties and we should probably split the extra pay for chairman so the board of equalization chair gets some extra as well. Our wages will be $26,500 next year. We have gone up $500 a year in the past. I’m fine with leaving it where it is. Some counties pay more, some counties pay less, some meet more often, some meet less. I recommend keeping it the same as it is. I think we are close to that ceiling now.”
“I’m fine with keeping it where it’s at,” said Commissioner Joe Burgess.
“I see no reason to change that salary at all,” Bowman said.
They agreed to keep the salary for county commissioners at $26,500 each year, with the chairman to receive $27,700 and the chairman of the board of equalization receiving $27,100 (if different than the chairman of the regular board).
Then they started the conversation about the salaries for the clerk, clerk of the district court, treasurer and assessor.
Obermier said he felt the clerk’s office should get some extra money -- $1,200 a year – for doing general assistance work “which we dumped on them this year.”
It was noted these positions made $60,000 in 2019 and $69,000 in 2023. In 2026, the salary for these positions will be $76,500.
“Where do you think it should go?” Obermier asked. “Over the last four years, you saw the raises on an annual basis and to me, we are getting there. If we are in the $80,000 range, that is a good wage in York County. Some people get paid way more than that and a lot more people get paid a lot less. My idea is $80,000-$82,000 for the years 2027-30.”
“Each position has its own set of uniqueness,” Grotz said. “But at the same time, they are similarly tied to other jobs in York County.”
Bowman suggested incremental increases with the end result being $86,000 at the end of four years.
“We can talk closer to $80,000 but I’m not on board with taking it to $86,000 in four years. It’s a good wage now,” Grotz said.
“I’m also on board with $80,000 to $82,000,” Burgess said.
“I could be there at $82,500,” Bowman offered.
“If we can agree to an ending wage for 2030, we can then split out the increases each year to get to that,” Burgess said.
“My question is if we are right in lumping all these together at the same pay?” Bowman asked.
They moved on to the conversation about the salary for the public defender’s salary. The salary will be $92,500 in 2026.
“This one has grown over the years but we also have to pay $125 an hour to outside public defenders when the county public defender cannot take a case,” Obermier said. “This one we have to look at for a serious increase.”
“It’s hard to know what to do with that one,” Grotz said.
They had a conversation about the debt load law students carry when entering the position and what has to be offered in order to have someone interested in this county position.
“The workload is not the same for the public defender and the county attorney, as the county attorney takes all the load and the public defender gets what’s assigned,” Grotz said.
“Maybe $110,000 to $120,000, to increase over the next four years,” Obermier said.
“I agree,” Bowman offered.
“We have got to have people to do the job,” Obermier said.
“I agree with you on the $100,000 range per the figures I looked up (regarding law school costs),” Burgess said.
“My number would probably be $112,500,” Bowman said.
“Now let’s talk about the county attorney,” Obermier said. “In 2026, the salary will be $112,000.”
“My number would be $132,500 and leave it for four years,” Bowman said. “And the sheriff salary would fall right in the middle of the two.”
Bowman said he felt the surveyor salary should be set at $20,000 a year and left at that level for four years.”
“Thoughts on the sheriff’s salary?” Obermier asked. “In 2026, it will go to $92,500. It went from $85,000 to $92,500 in four years’ time.”
“I want a big increase due to caseload and the way things have evolved in York County,” Bowman said. “We have big city crimes and need to pay big city wages.”
“Yes, but my question is where are we going to come up with big city money?” Grotz asked.
“I know, but we need to have the right people in place or the problems are going to get exponentially worse,” Bowman said.
They talked about what the deputies make, when earning overtime and how that should be considered for the sheriff.
“We have been very fortunate with our sheriff and how he has surrounded himself with very capable people. We have a very dedicated group of officials, all around, in York County,” Obermier said.
“I don’t disagree with adjustments but some of these numbers are hard to swallow,” Grotz said.
“I’d like to take this discussion to the next meeting,” Bowman said.
The others agreed and the conversation will continue at their next meeting – in the first meeting of 2026.