MARSHALL — Lyon County Commissioners acted this week to set minimum salary levels for the positions of county sheriff and county attorney. Lyon County Administrator Loren Stomberg said the county was required to set minimum salaries for the two elected positions once every four years.

“It’s required by state statute, during the first (county board) meeting during an election year for elected officials,” Stomberg said. The minimum salaries for the sheriff and county attorney positions needed to be set before the first date when applicants could file for those offices this year.

Commissioners were presented with a draft resolution, that proposed to set the minimum salaries for Lyon County Sheriff and the Lyon County Attorney at $118,500 a year.

“So the state has nothing to do with setting that amount?” Commissioner Thomas Andries asked about the proposed salaries.

“The reasoning behind the $118,500 is, that is the base of the pay scale that we currently have,” for the two positions, Stomberg said. “That’s given as reference. The county board can set that at any amount.”

Commissioners voted to approve both minimum salaries at $118,500.

Current Lyon County Sheriff Eric Wallen was first elected in 2018. Current County Attorney Abby Wikelius was elected in 2022. At this point, both Wallen and Wikelius’s salaries are above the minimum pay scale set by county commissioners Tuesday.

At their Dec. 18 meeting, commissioners voted to set salaries for Wallen and Wikelius, after holding performance reviews for them. Wallen’s sheriff salary was set at $150,150 for 2026, and Wikelius’s salary was set at $157,500.