FRESNO COUNTY – The Fresno County Board of Supervisors has approved steep raises for elected department head positions in a move the board says is an attempt to correct a past mistake.

In preparation for the 2026 midterm elections, the board unanimously approved a resolution on Nov. 4 that sets new salaries for five different elected positions, beginning in 2027. Per state law, the board must adopt salaries for county elected officials the year before the election; they cannot amend salaries during an official’s four-year term, nor can they adopt salaries after the election. 

“What has happened because of the escalation of inflation and different things, the salaries didn’t always keep pace,” Supervisor Brian Pacheco said. “This year we have a (cost of living) adjustment. So I appreciate the work that went into that, and for county counsel verifying that all this is legal, the proper way to do it, so that we don’t get in the same situation again.”

The approved salary increases for the assessor-recorder, county clerk, district attorney, sheriff and auditor-controller/treasurer-tax collector are significantly higher than what they have been in the past. In 2022, salaries for the term beginning in 2023 were increased by 7-10%. 

For the term beginning in 2027, the auditor-controller’s salary will increase by 18%, the county clerk and assessor-recorder salaries will increase by 23%, the sheriff’s salary will increase by 27.5% and the district attorney’s salary will increase by 38.5%. Beginning in 2028, the county clerk will receive an additional raise of 10%, and the district attorney and sheriff will receive raises of 5% and 4.5%, respectively. 

This means the assessor-recorder’s salary will increase from $183,924 to $226,226, the auditor-controller’s salary will increase from $198,640 to $234,390, the county clerk’s salary will increase from $164,424 to $202,254, the sheriff’s salary will increase from $244,270 to $311,454 and the district attorney’s salary will increase from $248,508 to $344,004.

Director of Human Services Hollis Magill said these increases will better align the elected official’s salaries with those of non-elected department heads and their counterparts in other local counties. 

Additionally, although the sheriff and district attorney will not be up for reelection in 2026 due to a state law that aligns their elections with the presidential election cycle, the positions are being included because their salaries were initially only projected through a four-year term in the previous resolution.

Speaking during public comment, Service Employees International Union Local 521 Fresno County Chapter President Riley Talford urged the board not to approve the salary increases, specifically for the sheriff and district attorney. He recommended the county take a more incremental approach to move the salaries to where they feel they should be.

Talford said that considering the recent $15 million budget deficit the county had to deal with, such large raises all at once would be unreasonable and send the wrong message to county employees and taxpayers. 

“Many county workers, including social workers, correctional officers (and) administrative staff, earn far less and have not seen comparable raises,” Talford said. “Such disproportionate increases could harm morale and erode public trust in county leadership.” 

Salary specifics

Supervisors said that while they understood where Talford was coming from, they were fully supportive of the action. 

“The fact is, we are righting some wrongs that have taken place in terms of how we’ve done budgeting and salaries for directors, people who are in leadership positions, so that this is what that is all about. It is trying to correct things,” Board Vice Chair Garry Bredefeld said.

When the current salaries, effective Jan. 2, 2023, were set in 2022, annual increases based on the rate of inflation were worked into the resolution. However, the increases were set to be equal to the California Weighted Consumer Price Index (CPI) for urban wage earners and clerical workers and could not exceed 3%. 

According to the California Department of Industrial Relations, the 2022 CPI was 7.6%, the 2023 CPI was 3.5% and the 2024 CPI was 3%. 

This CPI applied to the auditor-controller, assessor-recorder and county clerk for 2024, 2025 and 2026. For the district attorney and sheriff, however, the 2022 action provided those positions with a flat increase of 5% in both 2024 and 2025, followed by an increase based on the CPI. 

County staff said these increases have not kept pace with cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) provided to non-elected department heads. To fix that, the new salary structure for elected officials in the 2027-2031 term makes them eligible for the same COLA given to appointed department heads. 

“We basically kind of messed this up by not looking forward,” Board Chair Buddy Mendes said. 

Further, Fresno County Sheriff John Zanoni said department head salaries have not kept pace with the salaries of those working under the elected officials. 

“Fresno County used to have a personnel rule that said that you would be 10% above your subordinate, or something to that effect, and that has gone out the window,” Zanoni said. “And currently, elected officials make less than their subordinates because of the way the charter is worded and because of the way pay has been increased, as was said.” 

According to Fresno County’s salary schedule, the undersheriff has a salary range between $192,000 and $245,000. Assistant District Attorneys have a salary range between approximately $202,000 and $257,000. Other appointed department heads have salary ranges, on the low end, between $166,000 and $212,000 and, on the higher end, between $202,000 and $257,000.

Changes approved by the board will have a minimal impact on the county’s current budget, as raises will not take effect until Jan. 4, 2027. 

Also included in the action was an increase to elected department heads’ automobile allowance, putting it in line with the policy for non-elected department heads, that will increase net county costs by about $12,000 for the current fiscal year. Everything else will be worked into budget proposals for fiscal year 2026-27 and beyond when the time comes. 

Ceremonial matters

To open the Tuesday morning meeting, the board recognized retired Deputy Michael Wynn, who spent 21 years with the sheriff’s office, honored November as Sikh Heritage Month and issued a proclamation for the upcoming Veterans Day holiday. 

Regarding Sikh Heritage Month, Supervisor Luis Chavez said he spearheaded the effort to issue a proclamation for the Punjabi Sikh community, a large portion of which he also represented while serving on the Fresno City Council. 

“Every time that we’ve done anything in our neighborhoods, whether it was a cleanup or feeding the homeless or working with the less fortunate, our Sikh community has always been there at the forefront, and this is a way of us thanking you and appreciating the work that you do,” Chavez said. 

Fresno County is home to an estimated 70,000 Sikhs, according to the Sikh Historical Society of Fresno. Chavez said that while many people believe Sikhs came to the area after the 1984 genocide in India, the community has been in the Fresno area for well over 100 years. 

Speaking about the proclamation on behalf of his community, Gurminder Sangha thanked Chavez and the rest of the board for their support.

“This recognition honors more than a century of Sikh contributions to the Central Valley and reaffirms our shared values of service, equality and community,” Sangha said. 

In proclaiming Nov. 11 as Veterans Day, the board heard from its Veterans Service Office (VSO), which is run out of the Department of Social Services. DSS Director Sanja Bugay said Fresno County is home to more than 50,000 veterans and the VSO annually connects approximately 30,000 of those veterans to services. 

The VSO was named a 2025 State of the County honoree in public safety for the work that it does helping veterans access the benefits they are entitled to, transition into the civilian workforce and receive health care. 

“A lot of veterans don’t even know the benefits that they have or that they’re entitled to, so I encourage all veterans to find out what benefits they have, contact a veterans service organization, and they will get a lot of assistance from you,” Supervisor Garry Bredefeld said. 

Fee adjustments

Also on the agenda were two items related to fee adjustments. For both items, the board must amend county ordinances to adjust the fees, which requires a specific public hearing process. Supervisors voted unanimously to approve the first readings for both ordinances and scheduled public hearings for the second readings on Dec. 9. 

In the spirit of honoring local military members, the board signed off on reducing county park fees for veterans and active-duty service members. This includes the elimination of the vehicle entrance fee and a reduction of the daily camping grounds reservation fee from $11 to $6.

According to a county staff report, the county’s park and recreation division will monitor revenues collected through park fees to ensure full cost recovery is still achieved; any unbudgeted costs will be assessed and accounted for in future budgets. 

The board also approved an increase to the fee Fresno County charges other county governments for juveniles housed at the Juvenile Justice Campus who are not from Fresno County. After being established in 2022 at $380, the fee was last increased to $420 in November 2024. Fresno County Chief Probation Officer Kirk Haynes said the new proposed fee of $654 per youth per day will help the county ensure it has full cost recovery for individuals housed at the campus.