Several fairly routine items were on the early part of the agenda when the Wayne County Board of Commissioners met on Tuesday. However, the majority of the meeting involved discussion of a salary resolution for elected county officials.
County Treasurer Lisa Lindsay, County Assessor Dawn Duffy, Clerk of the District Court Diane Pieper, County Attorney Amy Miller and County Sheriff Jason Dwinell came before the commissioners to discuss a salary resolution that would establish elected officials' salaries for 2027-2030.
Lindsay told the commissioners that the salaries have to be set by January of 2026 as that is an election year. The current salary for these officials is $88,920.50 and the recommendation is that these salaries be increased by a minimum of 5% each year for the next four years. This would eliminate the need for a large increase at some point in the future, which would have a larger impact on the county budget.
She said having these increases set would help retain the current officials.
She shared information she had obtained from a Nebraska Association of County Officials (NACO) salary study and explained how the salaries are set. She noted that of the 15 counties in Nebraska closest to Wayne in regard to population (all are lower), Wayne County has the second lowest number of county employees.
County Commissioner Terry Sievers said "the future scares me because of the unknown. Everything keeps going up. With this plan, we will know what is going to happen for the next four years. I like how the committee has put the numbers together. In the end, our job is looking out for the taxpayers."
During the conversation, discussion was held on the position of County Commissioner and how these salaries are set.
It was noted that while the current commissioners are knowledgeable in regard to roads, this may not be the case in the future.
"The job of a commissioner and the position of road supervisor are two separate jobs. Someone elected to be a commissioner might not have the knowledge of road work," Sievers said.
Discussion included the possibility of having a set salary for a commissioner and an hourly rate for work done by that person in regard to road work in the county.
Following discussion, it was agreed that the approval of the resolution would be tabled until the next meeting.
Approved at the meeting was a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Wayne County and Madison County. This agreement, which is completed regularly, involves the counties working together with the Diversion Program.
A certificate of cost allocation plan from Maximus was also unanimously approved. It is a standard agreement and set rates for the coming year.
Commissioner Chair Jim Rabe was elected as Wayne County's representative and Vice-Chair Terry Sievers as the alternate for the upcoming Nebraska Association of County Officials (NACO) 2025 officer election.
Wayne County Treasurer Lisa Lindsay, representing the Safety Committee, spoke to the commissioners on a request to purchase first aid kits for the county offices and county shops.
She told the board she had found a water-proof bag to hold 10 common first aid items and would like to purchase 24 of these kits at a cost of just over $10 each. These would then be updated each year and evaluated to determine if additional/other items would be needed.
A short discussion was held on what items would be needed in a "perfect first aid kit" before commissioners gave informal approval to move forward with the purchase.
The meeting concluded with a brief public comment from DJ Dunklau on a possible misunderstanding from the last meeting.
Dunklau's father, John Dunklau, presented information at that meeting on the recall petition for Commissioner Dean Burbach. He noted that several people had opted not to sign the petition for fear of retaliation on projects moving forward, not projects that had already been completed.
Commissioners are not allowed to comment during the public comment portion of the meeting.
The Wayne County Board of Commissioners will next meet in regular session on Tuesday, Dec. 16 at 9 a.m. in the Wayne County Courtroom.
