Residents urge county to review retiree pay, suggest annual budget "tickler"

During public comment at a county meeting, residents asked county officials to consider increasing pay for retirees and to establish an annual budget reminder to revisit retiree pay and potential retroactive payments.

Residents said the county's last retiree increase occurred in February 2003. Resident 2, a resident who spoke during public comment, said retirees who “carried this county through the year” deserve raises and suggested an annual reminder during budget preparation so the issue would not be overlooked. “I do honestly feel like they're very deserving retirees as well as the employees of some sort of a pay raise,” Resident 2 said.

Resident 1, a resident who also spoke during public comment, noted the timing of prior actions and asked whether retroactive payments remained an option. Resident 1 said, “And our last increase was in 02/2003.” When asked about options, someone in the meeting offered to provide a printed summary; Resident 1 replied, “What? We can print something out for you. Okay. That'd be great.”

The comments described the affected retirees as a “small portion” of the county’s retired workforce and recommended a yearly, budget-time review — described by a speaker as a “tickler” — to prompt discussion of any increase. No formal motion or vote on retiree pay was recorded in the provided transcript segments. The speakers did not provide a detailed funding proposal or cite a specific statute or ordinance requiring action.

The discussion occurred during public comment; speakers pressed for a policy-level change (annual review) and asked whether retroactive pay was being considered. Meeting staff offered to provide attendees with printed information about the options discussed.

For now, the transcript shows public interest and requests for staff follow-up; no formal decision on retiree pay was recorded in the supplied excerpt.