Lebanon County Commissioners set salaries Tuesday at a special meeting for two row officers to be elected in 2025 and who will begin their four-year terms in 2026.
At the meeting, which is required by the county code, the salaries for county sheriff and register of wills were set by commissioners at a 2-percent increase or CPI (consumer price index), whichever is the lesser of the two, for the term of 2026 through 2029.
The register of wills handles all court-related administration in the areas of marriage, probate and estates, adoptions, and guardianships. The office also serves as the collection agent for Pennsylvania inheritance tax owed by decedents that lived in Lebanon County. The Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans’ Court is a dual office responsible for court related and non-court related activities.
The sheriff is an officer of the courts. Duties of that office include serving subpoenas, providing security in courtrooms, securing and transporting prisoners to and from correctional facilities and issuing licenses to carry firearms.
“At the last special public meeting in 2022, the commissioners voted to set the salaries for the county commissioners, the controller, treasurer, prothonotary, recorder of deeds and coroner at 2.0 percent increase or CPI, whichever is lesser for the term 2024 through 2027,” said Michelle Edris-Snavely, Lebanon County human resources director. “So what’s needed today is the establishment of the salaries for the terms for the years 2026 through 2029 for the sheriff and the register of wills.”
Read More: Commissioners stick to lesser of 2 percent or CPI for row office salaries
Edris-Snavely further explained the compensation rate that must be consistent with those established at the previous special salary meeting.
“The first two years must match the compensation set for the other elected officials for those years, so 2026 to 2027 they are already set at 2 percent or CPI, whichever is lesser,” explained Edris-Snavely. “So we need 2028 and 2029.”
Commission chairman Robert Phillips asked if there was a motion to consider the 2028-29 salaries, with commissioner Mike Kuhn making a motion to “apply those same numbers to the percent increase or the CPI, whichever is lesser, for (fiscal years) ’28 and ’29.”
There was no public comment on the proposal after commissioner Jo Ellen Litz had seconded Kuhn’s motion.
At the last meeting it was asked if the salary rate increase would lead to county taxes going up and if salaries would increase if Lebanon County became a fourth-class county instead of fifth class.
Fourth-class counties are those with a population of 145,000 to 209,000 while fifth-class counties are 90,000 to 144,999 people. Lebanon County’s population was 143,247 as of the 2020 U.S. Census.
A change in county class can’t occur until another census is conducted and it’s shown that Lebanon County’s population meets the minimum threshold.
The U.S. census is conducted every 10 years, on April 1, in years ending in zero, so the next one will occur in 2030.
After the salaries were unanimously approved by commissioners and the special session was adjourned, Litz asked Edris-Snavely why the meeting was in the evening instead of during the day.
Edris-Snavely said that’s because the county code as governed by state law requires the salary meeting to be held in the evening. She added that she believes that’s so the public can attend and offer comments on the compensation for their elected officials.
It was stated that the county code requires commissioners to set the salaries for future years prior to commissioners potentially announcing they are going to seek re-election, meaning they can’t set salaries for themselves while in office.
Salaries for two other elected offices, specifically county judges and the district attorney, are set by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, so commissioners have no control on how much those positions are paid.
Salaries for fiscal year 2024 for all county row officials are:
| Commissioners | 76,597.235 |
| Controller | 69,300.878 |
| Treasurer | 69,300.878 |
| Prothonotary /Clerk of Courts | 76,053.320 |
| Recorder of Deeds | 69,300.878 |
| Coroner | 69,300.878 |
| Register of Wills / Clerk of Orphans Courts | 76,053.320 |
| Sheriff | 69,300.878 |
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