COUNTY ATTORNEY SHERIFF SALARIES IN WESTERN STATES

[Pages:13]WYOMING LEGISLATIVE SERVICE OFFICE

RESEARCH MEMORANDUM

COUNTY ATTORNEY & SHERIFF SALARIES IN WESTERN STATES

QUESTION:

May 2020 by

Danielle Creech, Associate Research Analyst

How do Western states impose salary limits for county attorneys and sheriffs?

SUMMARY:

Some Western states establish salaries for sheriffs and county attorneys in state statute, while others authorize county boards of commissioners to establish these salaries. In many states, authority to establish salaries for sheriffs and county attorneys is shared between the state and county: state statutes establish minimum or base salaries, based on county size in some states, which county boards can then supplement. Wyoming is unique among these states in that state statute establishes a salary range for county sheriffs and county attorneys, with both minimum and maximum amounts, which county boards of commissioners must abide by.

DISCUSSION:

Below is an overview of how each state statutorily establishes salary guidelines for their county attorneys and sheriffs.

Colorado:

Article XIV of the Colorado Constitution classifies sheriffs as county officers and requires its legislature to fix their salaries, with the stipulation that the compensation of any county officer shall be increased or decreased only when the compensation of all county officers within the same county, or when the same county officer within the several counties of the state, is increased or

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decreased.1 The constitution also states that county officers shall not have their compensation increased or decreased during their terms of office. Colorado Revised Statute ? 30-2-102 breaks counties into categories and establishes county official salaries for each category. (See Table 1, below.) The statute additionally requires the director of research of the legislative council to biennially adjust these annual salary amounts and post them on the state general assembly website.2

Table 1. Colorado County Sheriff Minimum Salaries3 County Categories Category I-A: Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Douglas, El Paso, Jefferson, Larimer, Pueblo, and Weld Category I-B: -Category I-C: -Category I-D: Mesa Category II-A: Eagle, Garfield, La Plata, Routt, and Summit Category II-B: -Category II-C: Fremont and Pitkin Category II-D: -Category III-A: Alamosa, Chaffee, Clear Creek, Gunnison, Moffat, Montrose, Morgan, Park, Rio Blanco, San Miguel, and Teller Category III-B: Archuleta, Delta, Gilpin, Grand, and Logan Category III-C: Otero Category III-D: Las Animas and Montezuma Category IV-A: Custer, Elbert, Ouray, and Prowers Category IV-B: Kit Carson, Lake, Washington, and Yuma Category IV-C: Huerfano and Rio Grande Category IV-D: repealed Category V-A: Baca, Conejos, Costilla, Lincoln, Mineral, Phillips, and San Juan

Minimum County Sheriff Salary $160,239

$147,913 $135,587 $123,261 $126,490 $116,760 $107,030 $97,300

$109,615

$101,183 $92,751 $84,319 $96,057 $88,668 $81,279 $73,890

$70,817

1 CO Const. Art. XIV, ?? 8, 51 2 Colo. Rev. Stat. ? 30-2-102(2.3)(b) 3 Appendix A lists Colorado counties by population

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Category V-B: Crowley, Hinsdale, and Saguach

$65,369

Category V-C: Bent and Dolores

$59,922

Category V-D: Cheyenne

$54,475

Category VI-A: --

$67,067

Category VI-B: --

$61,908

Category VI-C: Jackson and Sedgwick

$56,749

Category VI-D: Kiowa

$51,590

Source: LSO Staff Research

Colo. Rev. Stat. ? 20-1-301(1)(V) establishes that all district attorneys shall receive no less than $130,000 per year and requires that any excess compensation be set by the board or boards of county commissioners of the county or counties comprising the judicial district. Furthermore, statute requires the state to contribute 80 percent annually and the counties within each district the remainder.4

Idaho:

Idaho code defines both sheriffs and (county) prosecuting attorneys as county officers.5 Idaho code also requires the board of county commissioners of each county to fix the annual salaries of county officers through the county budget process.6 Idaho does not set a minimum or maximum salary for their county officers.

Montana:

Montana Code Ann. ? 7-4-2503 requires county governing bodies to establish a uniform base salary for county officers, including the county sheriff, based upon the recommendations of each county's compensation board. The statute further requires that the county sheriff receive an additional $2,000 per year above the base salary, as well as a longevity payment of one percent of the base salary for each year of service with the sheriff's office. This base salary must be set by a county compensation board comprised of the county commissioners, three county officials appointed by the board of commissioners, the county attorney, and two to four resident taxpayers appointed initially by the board to staggered terms of three years. The county compensation board is required to hold hearings to consider compensation paid to county officers. A number of considerations are enumerated, such as population, motor vehicle registrations, building permits,

4 Colo. Rev. Stat. ?20-1-306

5 Idaho Code Ann. ? 31-2001 6 Idaho Code Ann. ? 31-3106

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and other factors necessary to reflect the variations in the workloads and responsibilities of county officials as well as the tax resources of the county.7

Mont. Code Ann. ? 7-4-2503 also requires each county's compensation board to establish the county attorney's salary. There are no minimum or maximum salary amounts set by the state. If the uniform base salary for other county officials is increased, the county attorney is entitled to at least the same increase unless the increase would cause the county attorney's salary to exceed the salary of a district court judge. All county official salaries (including the district court judge) are established by the individual county compensation board annually.

Montana county officer base salaries for 2018-2019 ranged from $32,011.20 (Petroleum County) to $75,991.48 (Butte County). Montana county attorney full-time salaries ranged from $56,690.40 (Treasure County) to $132,567 (Missoula and Yellowstone Counties). See Appendix B for a list of 2018-2019 Montana county officer and county attorney salaries.

Nebraska:

Nebraska Rev. Stat. ? 23-1114 requires that the salaries of all county elected officers be fixed by the county board in general election years. The statute establishes seven classes of counties based on population and sets minimum county officer salaries for each. Neb. Rev. Stat. ? 231206.01 establishes further minimum annual salaries for county attorneys based on county population. See Table 2.

Table 2. Nebraska County Sheriff and County Attorney Minimum Salaries

County Classifications

Class 1: Pop. less than 3,000 Class 2: Pop. 3,000 and less than 9,000 Class 3: Pop. 9,000 and less than 14,000 Class 4: Pop. 14,000 and less than 20,000 Class 5: Pop. 20,000 and less than 60,000 Class 6: Pop. 60,000 and less than 200,000 Class 7: Pop. 200,000+ Source: LSO Staff Research

County Officer Minimum Annual Salary $5,500 $6,000

$6,500

$7,500

$8,000 Salaries of officers in counties of Class 6 or Class 7 shall be established by the county board.

County Attorney Minimum Annual Salary

$27,000 $32,000

7 Mont. Code Ann. ?7-4-2503(4)

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Nevada:

Nev. Rev. Stat. ? 245.043(2) establishes base annual salaries for all elected county officers, including sheriffs and district attorneys in each county for fiscal years 2016 through 2019, and each fiscal year thereafter. See Table 3.

Table 3. Nevada County Sheriff and District Attorney Minimum Salaries

Class County / Fiscal Year

District Attorney

County Sheriff

1

Clark

FY 2015-2016

$187,563

$161,692

FY 2016-2017

193,190

166,543

FY 2017-2018

198,986

171,540

FY 2018-2019

204,955

176,685

2

Washoe

FY 2015-2016

165,573

133,234

FY 2016-2017

170,540

137,231

FY 2017-2018

175,656

141,348

FY 2018-2019

180,926

145,588

3

Carson City

FY 2015-2016

118,872

98,567

FY 2016-2017

122,438

101,524

FY 2017-2018

126,112

104,570

FY 2018-2019

129,895

107,707

Churchill

FY 2015-2016

118,872

98,567

FY 2016-2017

122,438

101,524

FY 2017-2018

126,112

104,570

FY 2018-2019

129,895

107,707

Douglas

FY 2015-2016

118,872

98,567

FY 2016-2017

122,438

101,524

FY 2017-2018

126,112

104,570

FY 2018-2019

129,895

107,707

Elko

FY 2015-2016

118,872

98,567

FY 2016-2017

122,438

101,524

FY 2017-2018

126,112

104,570

FY 2018-2019

129,895

107,707

Humboldt

FY 2015-2016

118,872

98,567

FY 2016-2017

122,438

101,524

FY 2017-2018

126,112

104,570

FY 2018-2019

129,895

107,707

Lyon

FY 2015-2016

118,872

98,567

FY 2016-2017

122,438

101,524

FY 2017-2018

126,112

104,570

FY 2018-2019

129,895

107,707

Nye

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FY 2015-2016

FY 2016-2017

FY 2017-2018

FY 2018-2019

4

Lander

FY 2015-2016

FY 2016-2017

FY 2017-2018

FY 2018-2019

Storey

FY 2015-2016

FY 2016-2017

FY 2017-2018

FY 2018-2019

White Pine

FY 2015-2016

FY 2016-2017

FY 2017-2018

FY 2018-2019

5

Eureka

FY 2015-2016

FY 2016-2017

FY 2017-2018

FY 2018-2019

Lincoln

FY 2015-2016

FY 2016-2017

FY 2017-2018

FY 2018-2019

Mineral

FY 2015-2016

FY 2016-2017

FY 2017-2018

FY 2018-2019

Pershing

FY 2015-2016

FY 2016-2017

FY 2017-2018

FY 2018-2019

6

Esmeralda

FY 2015-2016

FY 2016-2017

FY 2017-2018

FY 2018-2019

FY 2016-2017

FY 2017-2018

FY 2018-2019

Source: LSO Staff Research

118,872 122,438 126,112 129,895

$112,268 115,636 119,105 122,678

112,268 115,636 119,105 122,678

112,268 115,636 119,105 122,678

99,060 102,033 105,093 108,246

99,060 102,033 105,093 108,246

99,060 102,033 105,093 108,246

99,060 102,033 105,093 108,246

78,657 81,017 83,447 85,951 102,033 105,093 108,246

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98,567 101,524 104,570 107,707

$88,711 91,372 94,113 96,937

88,711 91,372 94,113 96,937

88,711 91,372 94,113 96,937

70,968 73,097 75,290 77,549

70,968 73,097 75,290 77,549

70,968 73,097 75,290 77,549

70,968 73,097 75,290 77,549

63,083 64,976 66,926 68,933 73,097 75,290 77,549

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North Dakota:

N.D. Cent. Code ?11-10-02 requires each county to have an elected state's attorney and an elected sheriff. 1 N.D. Cent. Code ? 11-10-10 establishes minimum annual salaries for state attorneys and county sheriffs based on county population as recorded by the last federal census. See Table 4.

Table 4. North Dakota County Sheriff Minimum Salaries

County Counties population less than 8,000 County population 8,000 or more

County population over $35,000 or other counties with full-time county attorney

Sheriff Minimum Salary $21,900 $22,900, plus additional compensation of $100 per year for each 1,000 additional population or major fraction thereof

Source: LSO Staff Research

State's Attorney Minimum Salary $47,000

Oregon:

Oregon Rev. Stat. ? 204 classifies sheriffs as county elective officers and authorizes the governing body of each county to fix the compensation of its county officers. The statute further requires each county governing body to appoint a county compensation board, which must annually recommend a compensation schedule for elective officers. There are no minimum or maximum sheriff salaries established by the state.

Or. Rev. Stat. ? 8.852 states that the district attorneys of the various counties are to be paid monthly salaries as adopted in the state employee unclassified salary plan outlined in ORS 240.240(2). The State of Oregon Classification and Compensation website provides an annual district attorney salary range of $107,628 to $135,480.8

South Dakota:

South Dakota statute requires the board of county commissioners to establish the county sheriff and state attorney salaries and provides a minimum annual salary schedule for each position, based on county population.9 The statute further specifies that the board may not decrease the salary of the sheriff or state's attorney during consecutive terms of office. Sheriffs managing a

8 State of Oregon, Department of Administrative Services, Classification and Compensation.

9 S.D. Codified Laws ?? 7-7-12, 7-12-15

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full-time jail in their county of service are to receive an additional ten percent to the prescribed base salary.10 See Table 5 and Table 6.

Table 5. S.D. County Sheriff Salaries

County Sheriff

County

Salary Schedule

Population

Below 10,000 $41,256

10,000-14,999 $44,723

15,000-24,999 $46,110

25,000-69,999 $51,657

70,000 and over $56,163

Source: LSO Staff Research

Table 6. S.D. State Attorney Salaries State Attorney County Population Salary Schedule

Below 5,000

$34,554

5,000-9,999

$37,673

10,000-20,000

$44,492

20,000-49,999

$47,728

Source: LSO Staff Research

Utah:

Utah Code ? 17-53-101(b) names both county sheriffs and county attorneys as elected county officers. Utah Code ? 17-16-14 requires that the annual salaries of all county officers be fixed by their respective county legislative bodies. No changes may be made to existing salaries without first holding a public hearing. Utah does not establish a minimum or maximum salary amount for county sheriffs or attorneys.

Washington:

Washington Rev. Code Ann. ? 36.17.020 authorizes the county legislative authority of each county to establish the salaries of their elected county officials, including sheriffs, and provides a minimum salary schedule for these officials, based on county population. See Table 7. The state does not include a maximum salary amount for county officials.

Table 7. Washington County Sheriff Minimum Salaries

County Classification

Sheriff Salary Minimum

Pop. Less than 5,000

$10,500

Pop. 5,000 to less than 8,000

$10,500

Pop. 8,000 to less than 12,000

$11,200

Pop. 12,000 to less than 18,000

$11,200

Pop. 18,000 to less than 40,000

$12,100

Pop. 40,000 to less than 70,000

$13,800

Pop. 70,000 to less than 125,000

$14,900

Pop. 120,000 to less than 210,000

$17,600

Pop. 210,000 to less than 1,000,000

$19,500

Pop. 1,000,000 +

$18,000 11

10 S.D. Codified Laws ?. 7-12-15

11 In each county with a population of one million or more, all county officers must receive a salary of at least $18,000.

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