Saint Clair County commissioners met in a special session Oct. 8 to consider two proposed fiscal year 2025–26 budgets — one without a 3% across-the-board raise for eligible employees and one with the 3% raise — and to take several staffing and payroll actions ahead of the new fiscal year.

The commission approved a hiring freeze for newly created positions and debated an amendment proposing a $1,000 premium payment to each full-time county employee. Commissioners also discussed removing a set of vacant job titles from the county payroll records, which, by the commission's estimate, would free roughly $1 million in budgeted salary dollars if implemented.

Why it matters: the commission's choices will determine employee pay, the size of the county payroll, and near-term budget capacity. Commissioners and staff said the county expects to draw down an estimated $3.5 million from fund balance to close the current fiscal year, and they reviewed historical budget amendments as context for the coming year.

Most important actions and votes

- The commission voted to impose a hiring freeze for newly created positions. A motion was made and seconded; commissioners present responded, “Aye.” (meeting transcript)

- Commissioners debated but did not resolve universally in the transcript whether to adopt the FY25–26 budget with or without a 3% pay increase. The meeting record shows motions and competing seconds for both the “no raise” option (A) and the “3% raise” option (B), and a separate amendment proposing $1,000 premium pay per full-time employee was offered; the transcript records discussion and a roll-call-style remark that a vote was “3 to 1,” but the record does not clearly attribute a final, unambiguous adopted budget option in the transcript excerpts provided.

Details and staff estimates

County staff told commissioners the FY25–26 budget that includes a 3% raise would cost substantially more than a flat $1,000 premium pay pool and that the raise option had already been modeled in the draft budgets. The county’s chief financial officer told the commission the modeled amount for a 3% raise would be “in the 800‑and‑something thousand dollars total, 400 and something out of general funds” with additional sums from other funds; staff characterized a $1,000 flat premium pay as a simpler distribution across funds.

Commissioners discussed removing several vacant positions that have remained on the books for a year or more. One commissioner said removing those vacant positions — combined with other bookkeeping changes under consideration — would produce roughly $1 million in budgetary space. Commissioners and staff also noted the county frequently uses amendments during the fiscal year; Michelle (CFO) reported general-fund amendments added about $2.3 million in the prior year.

What remains unresolved

- The transcript does not contain a clear, single statement that the commission adopted the FY25–26 budget with either option A (no 3% raise) or option B (3% raise). The record shows motions, seconds and debate, and references to a 3–1 vote in the room, but the clerk’s final roll call adopting a specific budget alternate is not recorded in the provided excerpt.

- The premium-pay amendment ($1,000 per full-time employee) was moved on the floor and discussed; the transcript contains debate and a reference to a 3–1 tally at one point, but does not include an unambiguous, complete roll-call adoption recorded in the excerpt.

Discussion context and constraints

Commissioners repeatedly emphasized they would revisit budget details after year-end revenue figures are finalized in November and that some positions could be restored by motion if operational needs materialize (for example, if the county engineer or sheriff substantiated a staffing need). Commissioners also noted the county retains a fund balance (described in the meeting as a savings account) and that actual changes to staffing or pay would follow standard amendment procedures if needed.

Ending

Commissioners directed staff to continue finalizing numbers and said they expect to revisit line items and potential restorations in the committee and full commission process after year-end closes and final revenue figures are available. The meeting moved on to other agenda items after the budget discussion.