2025-28 salaries set for county elected officials

The Oconto County Board has approved salaries for the years 2025 through 2028 for the county clerk, treasurer and register of deeds, who are elected in November.

State law requires the salaries be set before the earliest date that candidates may begin circulating nomination papers, which this year is April 15.

During the county board’s March 21 meeting, Human Resources Director Shelly Schultz said last year the sheriff and clerk of circuit court got a 4.5% raise for 2024, followed by 3% annually for three years during their latest term, which runs through 2027.

“This resolution is the same as we set last year for the other elected officials,” Schultz said. “It’s very difficult to project four years out, as we know, so this is our best estimate.”

County Clerk Kim Pytleski, Treasurer Tanya Peterson and Register of Deeds Laurie Wusterbarth are each making $70,296.01 under their current salary schedule that was approved in 2020. The people elected in November will start at $73,459.33, and the three 3% increases will bring the figure to $80,270.99 in 2028, the last year of the term.

Schultz said those officials’ salaries were slightly more than Shawano County and slightly less than Marinette County during the current term.

The new figures were approved 22-2, with Supervisors Gary Frank and Keith Schneider indicating they thought the first year increase should have been higher given the high inflation of the past four years.

Schneider said he believes the 2025 salary should have been 7% higher instead of 4.5%.

“How come we’re not leaders instead of followers?” Schneider said, referring to the decision to base the increase on what other counties are doing. “We’re followers right now. Why can’t we as a county be a leader?”

Frank argued that the rates set in 2020 put the officials at a disadvantage.

“Four years ago, we had an initial increase of 7.5% followed by three years of 2%, and of course during those last three years we had inflation of 5-something, 9% in there,” Frank said.

Schultz said she personally would like to see all county employees get such a raise, but the decision belongs to the county board and its administration committee.

Following the dictate of the state law is tough, she said.

“It’s not like we can go back every year and look at what the cost of living increases are, because that’s how general employees are figured, you look at it every year and base it on what’s going on in the market,” Schultz said. “This is set for four years. That’s why you’re seeing some counties raising 17 or 25%, because four years ago they may have given a 1% raise and now they’re playing catch-up.”

Sleeter acknowledged the committee spent a lot of time on the decision. The resolution was originally on the February agenda but was pulled back. At the time Sleeter said new information had been received for the committee to review, but the panel agreed to send its recommendation to the floor as is.

“There was a lot of discussion at two months of committee meetings. We decided to go with the comparable,” Sleeter said March 21.

wbluhm@newmedia-wi.com