County Sets State’s Attorney Salary at $176,830 After 4.1% Adjustment

Article Summary: The Montgomery County Board voted unanimously Tuesday to set salaries for three elected officials effective July 1, 2026, based on a 4.1% cost of living adjustment for the state’s attorney: $176,830.31 for the state’s attorney, $159,147.28 for the public defender and $141,464.44 for the sheriff.

FY2027 COLA Salary Key Points:

The adjustments are based on a 4.1% cost of living adjustment for the state’s attorney.

State’s Attorney: $176,830.31. Public Defender: $159,147.28. Sheriff: $141,464.44.

All three take effect July 1, 2026.

The board approved the figures on a unanimous roll call.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY — The Montgomery County Board on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, set the salaries of three elected county officials for the year beginning July 1, adopting figures the Finance & Budget Committee described as state salary adjustments.

Committee Chairwoman Connie Beck said the committee reviewed the state salary adjustments for the state’s attorney, public defender and sheriff, based on a 4.1% cost of living adjustment for the state’s attorney.

Beginning July 1, 2026, Beck reported, the state’s attorney’s salary will be $176,830.31; the public defender’s salary will be $159,147.28; and the sheriff’s salary will be $141,464.44.

Beck moved to set the three salaries at those amounts, with a second from Keith Hancock. The board approved the motion on a roll call vote with all 14 members voting yes.

Three Salaries, One Driver

The three figures move together. The public defender’s salary is set at exactly 90% of the state’s attorney’s, and the sheriff’s at just over 80% — relationships that mean a cost of living adjustment applied to one office flows through to the other two.

Montgomery County recovers a substantial share of these costs from the state. Treasurer’s records for May show the county budgeted $148,034 in salary reimbursement for the state’s attorney’s office in the current fiscal year and had received $74,017 through May, along with $101,909 budgeted and $50,955 received for the public defender’s office and $95,000 budgeted with $45,293 received for the sheriff’s office.

The minutes record no discussion of the salary figures and no explanation of the 4.1% adjustment’s origin. They do not state which statute or state program establishes the adjustment, and they do not indicate whether the county has any discretion over the amounts.

The board’s action was the last substantive item in the Finance & Budget Committee report. Members then approved the five committee reports and minutes as a block, took up announcements and appointments, and voted unanimously to pay all approved bills and payroll before adjourning at 6:53 p.m.