Hardin County sets pay-raise effective date for fiscal 2026 payroll to Oct. 16

Hardin County Commissioners Court voted Tuesday to make fiscal-year 2026 salary increases effective on the Oct. 16, 2025 payroll date, meaning most new wages will be paid on that check and any pay earned earlier will be booked to the prior fiscal year. The action follows a lengthy discussion about whether raises should take effect on the first payroll dated in October or on the first full pay period after Oct. 1.

County Auditor Candace McKinney told the court that the county’s historic practice was to base a raise’s effective date on the paycheck date and that having the Oct. 2 payroll as the effective date would place 100% of that payroll back into fiscal year 2025. McKinney said the Oct. 16 paycheck is mixed — roughly 80% of the pay period falls in the new fiscal year — so using that date would limit the amount that must be retroactively charged to FY25.

The court’s discussion focused on administrative and budgetary effects. Commissioner Kuykendahl and other members noted payroll timing quirks (including years with 27 pay periods) and expressed concern about the county appearing to reduce pay for employees; Commissioner Cooper emphasized that workers are paid for the time they earn in the fiscal year for which it was budgeted. Commissioners agreed to standardize the rule so the new wages would take effect on paychecks dated Oct. 1 or later when the time worked falls in the new fiscal year, and for this year specifically to use the Oct. 16, 2025 payroll date. Any portion of pay earned in FY25 that appears on the Oct. 16 check will be booked back to FY25.

The court voted in favor of the motion with no recorded opposition and directed staff to apply the same approach in future years to avoid repeated annual debates about payroll timing.

Court members and staff emphasized they would try to avoid creating confusion for employees: raises do not reduce pay already earned, and the change merely specifies which paycheck date triggers the new rate. The court also discussed longer-term payroll software or process changes that could handle split pay rates within a single check; no software action was approved at Tuesday’s meeting.