Commissioner VanDusen Retains Leadership Role as Salary Increase Sparks Debate

Northeast Radio SD News - Watertown, SD - The Codington County Commissioners began the 2026 term Tuesday with the re-election of Troy VanDusen as chairman and a debate over commissioner pay that required three separate motions to resolve.

Leadership Elections

The meeting opened with Auditor Brenda Hanten calling for nominations for the 2026 board chair. Following a paper-ballot vote, VanDusen was re-elected to the position, defeating Tyler McElhany’s nomination by a 4-1 vote. Commissioner Lee Gabel nominated VanDusen, and Randy Schweer nominated McElhany.

Immediately following his re-election, VanDusen opened the floor for vice chairman nominations. McElhany was nominated again by Schweer and elected to the role via a unanimous voice vote.

Commissioner Salary Dispute

The morning debate centered on setting the commissioner’s salaries for the 2026 fiscal year.

Commissioner Myron Johnson moved to increase commissioner salaries by 2.6%, matching the cost-of-living adjustment recently granted to other county employees. Johnson noted that the board has historically followed precedent by aligning its pay increases with staff increases.

However, the proposal met resistance from Commissioner Lee Gabel, who introduced a substitute motion to keep the salary increase at 0%. Gabel reminded the board that it had originally budgeted for no increase.

“Mr. Chair, we budgeted for a 0% increase. So I would make a substitute motion... I would just leave it at 0%,” Gabel stated.

The substitute motion for no increase failed on a 2-3 roll-call vote, with Gabel and Commissioner Randy Schweer voting in favor, while Johnson, McElhany, and VanDusen voted against it.

The board then returned to the original 2.6% motion. Auditor Hanten clarified that the increase would have raised monthly salaries from $2,229.78 to $2,287.75. This motion also failed, this time in a 2-3 vote, as VanDusen joined Gabel and Schweer in opposition.

Final Resolution

With both the 0% and 2.6% options defeated, Commissioner VanDusen suggested seeking guidance from the State’s Attorney on how to proceed. To break the deadlock, Johnson introduced a third motion, proposing a 2.5% increase—just one-tenth of a percent lower than his initial request.

“I’ll make a motion that we set the increase at 2.5%... so we have a different motion,” Johnson said.

This final compromise passed 3-2. Johnson, McElhany, and VanDusen voted in favor, while Gabel and Schweer remained opposed.