JSDC approves 5% CEO raise, regional dues and internship aid

The Jamestown/Stutsman Development Corp. Board of Directors voted unanimously Jan. 12 to increase CEO Corry Shevlin’s salary by 5 percent, raising his annual pay to $132,500 and backdating the raise to Jan. 1. The 5 percent bump translates to roughly $6,310 more a year over last year’s pay, moving the prior salary from about $126,190 to the current level.

Board president Jeremy Rham said the annual performance review went well. “Overall things are going very well,” he said. “Corry is doing a good job.” Rham also said Shevlin will collect market data to see whether JSDC’s CEO salary aligns with comparable economic development organizations, a step board members identified as important ahead of the 2027 budgeting cycle.

Mayor Dwaine Heinrich told the board that having salary benchmarking available will make approval and budgeting easier. Shevlin said the JSDC’s budgeting process for 2027 begins in March and April, signaling the timing when Jamestown and Stutsman County budget officials will weigh the impact of the salary change.

Beyond pay, the board unanimously approved dues for the South Central Dakota Regional Council totaling more than $36,400 for 2026, which will be split between the city and county on a 63-37 basis if the Jamestown City Council and Stutsman County Commission concur. Under that split the city’s share is nearly $23,000 and the county’s share is just over $13,400. The regional council provides planning, technical assistance and program administration to nine counties in the region — Barnes, Dickey, Foster, Griggs, LaMoure, Logan, McIntosh, Stutsman and Wells — and has aided local grant work through the Rural Catalyst Grant Program.

The board also approved three internship applications through JSDC’s Workforce Pathways Reimbursement Program for local employer Shocker Hitch: two manufacturing interns and one accounting intern. The total estimated reimbursement cost to JSDC is about $8,500. The program contributes up to $3,500 toward an internship, generally covering up to half of employer payroll costs, and requires employers to pay interns at least $15 per hour. Intern and employer eligibility rules require the position to be located in Stutsman County and interns to be juniors, seniors or within two years of completing their program.

For Jamestown taxpayers, the immediate fiscal effect is modest: a roughly $6,300 increase in the CEO’s wage line and potential approvals next month for the regional council dues and the internship reimbursements. For local employers and students, the internship approvals reinforce a pipeline connecting college-age talent with Stutsman County businesses.

Our two cents? A small pay increase can help retain a CEO who is actively pursuing grants and workforce programs, but residents and officials should watch the budget cycle in March and April to see how these incremental costs stack up against other priorities and whether benchmarking keeps local compensation competitive.