Montgomery County staff told commissioners on Aug. 11 that the Arnold Group had delivered a final wage-study workbook and recommended the board formally adopt the study and implement it effective Jan. 1, 2026.

The study is intended to right-size pay grades, address compression and set a recurring process for pay-scale maintenance. Staff proposed a minimum, automatic 1% annual pay-scale adjustment each Jan. 1 ("pay scale maintenance") and noted merit-based reviews could still provide larger adjustments (up to 2.5% in typical circumstances) depending on performance and job-grade movement.

Jonathan, the county staff presenter, said the Arnold Group workbook contains the grade-and-step scales, placement rules for new hires, and formulas that determine step movement based on time in grade, experience and certifications. He said one reason to adopt the study now is to avoid large, infrequent adjustments and instead maintain pay scales annually so budgets can be forecast more reliably.

Several commissioners asked for a brief work session to review the workbook's dollar impacts and to receive training for department heads on how to apply the study when conducting reviews. Jonathan said the Arnold Group had conducted a Zoom training for county staff and that staff would arrange a department-head training session and provide a digestible breakdown of the workbook and the dollar impacts for budgeting purposes.

No final, signed adoption or final vote to implement changes immediately was recorded in the meeting; the timeline presented would make any approved implementation effective Jan. 1, 2026. Commissioners instructed staff to schedule a short work session before final action so commissioners and department heads could review the dollar figures and implementation mechanics.

Why it matters: The wage study sets pay ranges and a recurring maintenance process that will affect county payroll and budget planning beginning in 2026. Annualized adjustments change the baseline for future merit and market-based increases.

What’s next: Staff will schedule a work session to present the workbook's dollar impacts and training materials for department heads, and will return to the commission for final adoption and implementation decisions.