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Council debates pay strategy for 2026; consultant recommends 100% of midpoint plus COLA
Summary
Council members and staff discussed countywide pay strategy for 2026. The compensation consultant (Wagner, Erwin, Shealy) advised using 100% of midpoint plus a cost‑of‑living adjustment (COLA) — the consultant noted a likely COLA of 2.7% — as a conservative approach to retain employees amid tight labor markets.
Henry County council members debated whether to finalize raises before further cuts to department budgets, with staff citing market pressure on law‑enforcement pay and other hard‑to‑fill roles.
Shannon, relaying guidance from the county’s compensation consultant Wagner, Erwin, Shealy, told the council the consultant “cannot and will not provide any recommendation of changes to any specific department over another,” but shared a common approach the firm suggested for counties facing recruitment pressures: pay to 100% of midpoint on the market matrix plus a COLA. The consultant’s contact noted the Social Security Administration’s 2026 COLA ask of about 2.7% as a reasonable COLA estimate.
Council members said they prefer deciding general compensation philosophy before finalizing the budgets for individual departments. One council member said a policy of waiting until the last moment to allocate raises from leftover budget funds “puts employees last” and urged discussion of compensation priorities earlier in the cycle.
Staff noted that the Wagner, Erwin, Shealy midpoint calculations are typically a year in arrears, which means a department set at 97% of midpoint reflects prior market conditions. The county will obtain a memo from the consultant advising on how to blend midpoint adjustments and COLA for 2026; Shannon said he would circulate the memo to the full council.
Ending: Council members agreed to continue the compensation discussion before final appropriations, and to review the consultant memo before taking a final vote on raises.
