Seward County commissioners on Jan. 6 set the pay scale for the county’s elected officials beginning in 2027.
As outlined by Nebraska statute, the county board has the authority to set the salary for the county clerk, county treasurer, assessor and clerk of the district court and other county officials’ salaries, which can be designated as a percentage of that base salary. The commissioners also set the percentages used.
Most of the county leadership positions are full-time jobs and all county employees receive the same health insurance and other benefits.
Nebraska law requires the salaries to be set every four years in most cases, though the commissioners’ pay is reviewed every two years because the board has staggered terms.
Seward County commissioners set the salary schedule after recent meetings with a group of elected county officials and reviewing a statewide salary study done by the Nebraska Association of County Officials (NACO). Seward County Commission Chair Misty Ahmic was one of 13 county officials working on the study.
The salary committee reviewed different methods counties could use to set salaries and use the county treasurers’ salaries as a base because all counties have a treasurer. They also considered the Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers (CPI-U) and the State and Local Gross Investment Index (SLCE), the study reported.
Elected county officials with four-year terms are up for re-election in 2026, with successful candidates beginning terms in 2027. Three of the commissioners are on the 2026 ballot and the other two positions will be on the 2028 ballot.
Seward County’s county clerk, county treasurer, assessor and clerk of the district court will be paid $96,000 for 2027 with annual $3,000 increases through 2030. The 2026 salary for these positions is $89,500 according to a NACO list of Seward County salaries.
Deputy positions, such as the deputy county attorney or deputy assessor, should be paid at least 65% of their supervisor’s pay level according to the salary study.
The county attorney’s position will remain the highest paid county position – set by the board at 162.5% of the rate paid the four base positions. In this case that would be $156,000 for 2027, or 162.5% of $96,000.
The position’s salary for 2026 is $143,200, the NACO list indicated.
County attorneys are expected to be on call year-round and in Seward County it is a full-time position which curtails the option of having a private practice.
Current County Attorney Wendy Elston asked commissioners for a higher percentage than the NACO study’s recommended 160% based on the extra work she does that is outside of job requirements.
She told commissioners she spends an additional 10 hours per week on child support issues and the county gets state reimbursement for 66% of that time.
The sheriff’s position will be paid at 125% of the $96,000 base, or $120,000. Ahmic said the sheriff’s position had previously had a higher percentage based on oversight of the county jail, as outlined in state guidelines.
But the Seward County jail has a designated director. She said she and current Sheriff Mike Vance agreed to remove the stipend for the jail management at this time.
NACO listed the sheriff’s current salary at $125,300.
County commissioners will be paid 44% of the base salary in 2027, or $42,240. Those positions will not see another increase until 2029. The 2026 salary for commissioners is $37,410.
Seward County no long has a public defender or county surveyor on staff, but contracts with attorneys and surveyors when their work is needed.
In the past, the board has paid a stipend of $10,000 for each year the county clerk also served as the county’s budget making authority. The county has a similar option for a person designated to value residential and ag land.
Elaine Menzel, legal counsel for NACO, said the study guidelines provide information to make salaries competitive but also give counties control over their pay levels.
The recommendations are “just factors to take into consideration,” she said.
The commissioners approved the salaries on a 3-0 vote with two commissioners absent. Ahmic, Darrell Zabrockie and Ken Schmieding attended the meeting.
