Clay County gives preliminary pay raises to the sheriff, county attorney and others in 2026

MOORHEAD, Minn. (KVRR) — Clay County Commissioners have given preliminary approval to a pay raise for Clay County Sheriff Mark Empting.

Clay County Attorney Brian Melton and chief assistant county attorneys would also get raises.

Empting told the commission that the responsibilities in his position have grown substantially over the past few years, but the compensation hasn’t changed.

Empting says he’s in charge of hiring, budgets and working extra hours during summer community events.

He says the salary adjustment is already built into the department’s budget.

He was seeking a 10% increase along with a 4% cost-of-living adjustment for a total of a 14% increase in pay.

His current pay is $161,432 annually.

The raise will bring his pay to $184,000 annually.

The board still has to vote an a final resolution to approve the amounts next week.

Empting was first elected sheriff in November 2018 are re-elected in 2022.