Hennepin Board approves big raises for county attorney and sheriff, smaller boost for themselves

The Hennepin County attorney and sheriff will get substantial pay raises next year to put them on par with what other local countywide elected officials earn.

The County Board will also get a pay hike, but it is much smaller than the 49% proposed July 30 that was scrapped a week later. The board reconsidered that raise after taxpayers, employees and fellow elected leaders were critical of the size of the increase in commissioners’ pay.

Before the board voted 6-0 Tuesday to approve the pay changes, union county clerical workers chanted outside the meeting room in opposition to their own rising health insurance costs.

Ali Fuhrman, who leads AFSCME Local 2822, said the previously proposed raise for the board was higher than a typical union member’s salary.

“It seemed very tone-deaf,” Fuhrman said, adding it was “insulting” that some union members were offered a 1% annual pay raise recently in negotiations while elected officials are getting much bigger raises. “We expected more.”

As rationale for the pay hikes, commissioners have noted that the county attorney and sheriff are among the lowest paid in the Twin Cities metro. They’ve also pointed out the size of the government elected leaders oversee and the number of constituents the county serves.

Under the plan from Commissioner Heather Edelson, the county attorney and sheriff will earn $224,820 next year and $231,564 in 2026. Sheriff Dawanna Witt now earns $185,775 and County Attorney Mary Moriarty makes $195,065.

For comparison, the maximum salary for Hennepin’s countywide elected officials in 2010 was $149,483.

Witt and Moriarty previously expressed support for increasing the pay for their positions. They also asked commissioners to take a closer look at the pay for their staffs to ensure salaries remain competitive.

Commissioners’ pay will climb 5% each of the next two years, from the current $122,225 to $128,336 in 2025 and $134,753 by 2026. Commissioners Angela Conley and Kevin Anderson, who proposed the increases, said they were more in line with what employees historically received and that they would help make up for a pay freeze between 2016 and 2022.

Both pay changes were approved with 6-0 votes with minimal discussion. Commissioner Debbie Goettel was absent but previously supported the salary increases.

Salaries are just part of the total compensation for board members and countywide elected leaders. They are eligible for benefits like health and dental insurance, disability insurance and a retirement plan.

In 2024, benefits for commissioners averaged $34,385, the county attorney’s cost $31,052 and the sheriff’s cost $63,618, according to data provided by the county.

Board Chair Irene Fernando acknowledged the rigorous pushback her original proposal received to increase commissioners’ pay by 49% and also give the sheriff and county attorney big raises.

Fernando made the proposal after a salary study that compared Hennepin County elected officials’ pay with surrounding counties. It also took into account that Hennepin, with nearly 1.3 million residents, is Minnesota’s largest county and has the second-largest government after the state bureaucracy.

Fernando said the pay for elected positions has a direct impact on who decides to run for office and that higher salaries are needed if the county wants more diverse leadership in the future.

“I’m the first. I will work very hard to ensure I’m not the last,” said Fernando, who is the first woman of color to lead the board.