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County council directs staff to advertise 3% cost‑of‑living increase, asks to prioritize positions below midpoint
Summary
At a budget workshop, Boone County council members directed staff to advertise a 3% cost‑of‑living adjustment in the proposed 2026 budget and asked payroll staff to identify positions not at their salary midpoint so the council can consider moving funding to bring those positions to midpoint if requested.
Boone County Council members agreed during a July budget workshop to advertise a 3% cost‑of‑living adjustment (COLA) in the 2026 budget and to pursue a separate analysis to identify and, where requested, fund positions that are below the midpoint for their job classification.
The instruction came after county staff and HR presented scenarios showing the cost of moving employees to midpoint pay levels and adding a COLA. Council members said they want the advertised budget to include a higher figure that can be reduced if later revenue estimates make it necessary.
The county’s HR representative presented a scenario last month that combined midpoint adjustments for under‑market positions with a 2.4% COLA; at the workshop staff recommended advertising a slightly higher figure and returning with updated Form 1 data. Staff asked that councilers treat the advertised budget as aspirational so the county retains flexibility to lower the numbers before final adoption in October.
Council members also asked HR and the auditor’s office to coordinate to update Form 1 salary lines so the council can see which positions are funded below midpoint and what it would cost to bring each to midpoint. Staff said they will use a new compensation tool (salary.com) to validate midpoints and that department heads retain hiring and performance discretion that can affect whether an individual in a funded position receives the midpoint amount.
Council members discussed risks of repeatedly “topping out” salaries for underperforming employees and stressed the need to separate funding for a position from the individual in it. The group asked department liaisons to confirm the justification for any requests to move a funded position to midpoint before the council acts.
The workshop did not adopt a final salary ordinance; instead council members directed staff to advertise the budget using a 3% COLA scenario and to prepare a separate 4% run for comparison, to be provided offline and updated as new revenue estimates arrive.
Council members said the budget adoption timeline gives them room to reduce advertised amounts: the tentative budget is advertised in September, state LIT and circuit breaker estimates must arrive by statutory deadlines, and final adoption occurs in October.
Staff will return to the council with updated Form 1 payroll runs, midpoint analyses and comparative scenarios for 3% and 4% COLAs so members can make a final determination before adoption.
