Hennepin County Board eyes smaller raises for members, bigger hikes for attorney and sheriff

Hennepin County commissioners are planning more modest salary increases for themselves but larger pay hikes for the county’s elected sheriff and attorney.

The move comes after taxpayers, workers and other elected officials were outraged by a previous plan for commissioners to raise their salaries by 49% to put them at the low end of what assistant county administrators earn. The board voted 6-0 on Aug. 6 to scrap that plan and also decided to rethink salary increases for countywide elected offices.

A final vote on the new salaries is expected at the County Board’s regular meeting at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Under a proposal from board members Angela Conley and Kevin Anderson, commissioners’ pay would climb 5% each of the next two years, from the current $122,225 to $128,336 in 2025 and $134,753 by 2026.

Conley and Anderson said those increases were more in line with what county workers received during the past few years and would help the board make up for stagnant salaries between 2016 and 2022.

“Our goal has always been to lift up employees first and follow behind,” Anderson said. He previously voted against the 49% pay increase, while Conley supported it.

Countywide elected officials would see a bigger pay bump than what the board initially backed July 30.

Commissioner Heather Edelson proposed increasing pay for the county attorney and sheriff next year to $224,820 and to $231,564 by 2026.

Currently, Sheriff Dawanna Witt earns $185,775 and County Attorney Mary Moriarty makes $195,065.

Board Chair Irene Fernando’s market study made it clear the two countywide elected leaders needed more competitive pay, Edelson said. She added that Witt and Moriarty are among the lowest-paid in the Twin Cities metro but have larger staffs and more constituents than other counties.

Fernando expressed concern that under Edelson’s plan the sheriff and county attorney would earn 75% more than commissioners.

Previously, in separate statements, Moriarty and Witt supported increasing the salaries for their positions. They also urged the County Board to look closely at whether their employees earn competitive salaries.

Hennepin County is the largest government in Minnesota after the state bureaucracy and serves 1.3 million people, or 22% of the state population. The county provides roughly half of the state’s social services.

The County Board has seven commissioners who oversee a county budget of $2.7 billion and roughly 10,000 employees. Commissioners are responsible for hiring the county administrator and typically approve department directors. They also appoint positions such as the medical examiner, auditor and assessor.

Commissioners approve the $1.5 billion budget for Hennepin Healthcare, which runs HCMC and other health clinics. Two commissioners also sit on the health system’s board.

Sheriff Witt has about 800 employees and a budget of $160 million. The 911 dispatch center in Plymouth handled almost 300,000 emergency calls from 39 communities in 2023.

The Sheriff’s Office also operates the state’s largest jail.

County Attorney Moriarty has 500 employees and a budget of $78 million. Her office prosecutes criminal cases, oversees child protection and support cases, and represents the county government in civil matters.

In 2023, Moriarty’s office handled more than 14,600 criminal cases.