Sedgwick County Commission Considers Pay Raises for Prosecutors, Sheriff's Offices

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – The Sedgwick County Commission will consider pay raises for the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office and the District Attorney’s Office on Wednesday.

The commission will vote on a proposed 2 percent adjustment for the sheriff’s office, on top of an 8.7 percent increase at the beginning of the year.

The county said the increase would help the sheriff’s office keep salaries competitive with other local law enforcement agencies. The county said the third-quarter (September 2024) increase was discussed in January and was included in the 2025 budget discussions. A 2 percent increase is also scheduled for Jan. 1, 2025.

Due to several factors, including compensation, the county said the district attorney’s office continues to face challenges filling attorney vacancies within the office.

District Attorney Marc Bennett said he hopes a 7.6 percent raise for all attorneys will help with recruitment and retention “as attorneys continue to leave the office for higher-paying jobs in neighboring jurisdictions.”

Bennett said six attorneys have left his office in the past 12 months, including the head of the consumer protection division and two senior attorneys.

“With a vacancy rate of nearly 20 percent among the firm’s attorneys, workloads are becoming unmanageable,” Bennett said.

The salary adjustment will increase the starting salary for an entry-level lawyer from $74,380 to $80,033.