by Luke Sprinkel
The Hennepin County Board of Commissioners, the Hennepin County sheriff, and the Hennepin County attorney are set to receive significant pay rate increases in the next two years after a pair of 6-0 votes from the county commissioners.
On Tuesday, the commissioners held one vote to increase their own pay rates and a separate vote to increase the pay rates of the county sheriff and county attorney. One commissioner, Debbie Goettel, was not present for the votes.
Hennepin County commissioners
In 2024, Hennepin County Commissioners received an annual salary of roughly $122,000. Following Tuesday’s vote, the seven commissioners’ annual salaries will increase to over $134,000 by 2026; a 10% increase. The measure to increase the board’s pay was brought forward by Commissioners Angela Conley and Kevin Anderson.
“What this is doing is, for 2025 and 2026, setting commissioner pay at a 5% increase for each year, which is in align with the average amount of increase we saw with [Hennepin County] employees,” said Commissioner Conley at Tuesday’s meeting.
Earlier this month, several members of the Hennepin County Board attempted to increase the commissioners’ annual salaries by 49%. However, the proposal was eventually shelved after public backlash to the massive proposed salary increase.
In supporting the pay increases, Commissioner Irene Fernando, the chair of the county board, said, “We need generations of elected leaders across the state and country to view elected office as a viable career chapter for themselves and their families. I posit that these jobs are the most consequential jobs in our communities because elected officials are the built-in leaders, innovators, and visionaries who make decisions every day with impacts decades into the future.”
In order to receive the salary increases, the commissioners will need to file notice with the county requesting the adjusted pay.
Hennepin County attorney and Hennepin County sheriff
This year, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty received an annual salary of roughly $195,000. Additionally, Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt received an annual salary of roughly $188,000. The salaries for both elected offices were last increased in 2021.
According to the county board’s resolution on the matter, “the Hennepin County Sheriff is the 2nd lowest paid Sheriff in the Twin Cities Metro Area (Metro) and the Hennepin County Attorney is the lowest paid County Attorney in the Metro, despite serving the largest population.”
In turn, the county board voted 6-0 to increase the salaries of both the Hennepin County attorney and Hennepin County sheriff to over $231,000 by 2026. This represents a nearly 23% increase for the sheriff and an 18% increase for the county attorney.
Like the county commissioners, both Moriarty and Witt will need to file a notice with the county requesting the salary increases.
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Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
Photo “Hennepin County Board of Commissioners” by Hennepin County.
