County budget official proposes 4% COLA; department heads broadly urge approval, flag Oracle/step‑chart limits on merit pay

Brazos County — At a July 15 Brazos County Commissioners Court budget workshop, county budget director Nina Payne proposed a 4% cost‑of‑living adjustment (COLA) for FY2026 and recommended postponing a merit policy change until the county can implement a reliable one‑time or person‑based payout option.

Payne framed the proposal as a personnel investment: “Our county's greatest strength isn't its roads, buildings, or equipment. It's the people who serve here every day,” she said, urging the court to “stay with your employees by proposing this adjustment.” Payne told the court the 4% COLA would increase the FY2026 budget by about $3,300,000 and said the proposed COLA would not raise salaries to the local living‑wage level but would move them closer.

Why it matters: County employees repeatedly told the court that rising housing, food and insurance costs have strained household budgets and contributed to turnover. Personnel costs are a leading driver of county service delivery, so changes to pay affect recruitment, retention and service continuity.

Key facts presented and discussed

- Proposal and budget impact: Payne proposed a 4% across‑the‑board COLA for all county employees and estimated the budgetary effect at about $3,300,000. She also recommended not implementing a merit program in FY2026 while staff work on system changes. - Living‑wage context: Payne cited an MIT living‑wage calculation and said Brazos County’s lowest budgeted wage ($17.98/hour as presented) remained below the calculated living wage for the county (she cited $20.27/hour for Brazos County in the MIT‑based sheet used in the packet). - Department heads’ input: Multiple department heads and elected officials — including the district attorney’s office, county courts, public defender, sheriff’s office, road & bridge, juvenile services and IT — urged approval of the COLA. Several speakers described losing staff to surrounding counties and private employers; some requested larger increases for particular public‑safety positions (a constable requested 10% for deputies while supporting a 4% COLA overall). - Merit pay and Oracle: County HR and the county auditor described technical constraints imposed by the existing group‑and‑step salary structure and the Oracle HCM implementation. Payne and HR staff said a flat, one‑time pay approach would not work under the current group‑and‑step configuration without system reconfiguration; county auditor Katie Connor said reconfiguring Oracle to support ranges would take at least a year and a compensation study would be advisable.

Attributions and direct quotes

- “Our county's greatest strength isn't its roads, buildings, or equipment. It's the people who serve here every day. ... I respectfully ask that you stay with your employees by proposing this adjustment.” — Nina Payne, budget director. - “I am in support of including cost of living adjustment to Brazos County employees for the fiscal year 20 26 Brazos County budget.” — excerpt read into the record from a memo by Judge David Hilburn, who was absent and sent a written statement in support. - “For the flat rate COLA, it will not work on the group and step chart.” — Nina Payne (on technical constraints with the current pay structure). - “It'll take a year at least to get Oracle reconfigured to do ranges.” — Katie Connor, County Auditor.

What department heads said (summary)

Speakers representing courts, law enforcement, juvenile services, public defender, county engineering and IT told the court they support a COLA to help stem turnover and improve recruitment. Common themes: - Many employees are taking second jobs or being recruited away by neighboring counties or the private sector. - For some front‑line positions (for example, entry‑level road and bridge flaggers and some deputy positions), market hourly rates cited by department heads were substantially above county starting pay, making recruitment and retention difficult. - Several department heads said they preferred an across‑the‑board COLA to a selective merit program this year because a merit program under current systems would create inequities or be limited by system constraints.

Court response and next steps

- Nina Payne told the court that her working budget will include a 4% COLA proposal. She said the county—an aim to accomplish this with a no‑new‑revenue rate, subject to final budget calculations and the formal budget adoption process. - The court directed staff to continue work on compensation‑system options and to return information on alternatives and timeline (including possible compensation study and Oracle reconfiguration) before final budget adoption.

Speakers (selected)

- Nina Payne — Budget Director, Brazos County (presenter of COLA proposal) - Judge David Hilburn — County Judge (memo read into record in support) - Brian (filling in for DA Jarvis) — District Attorney’s Office representative (urged COLA to retain staff) - Eric Caldwell — IT Director (spoke against merit this cycle, supporting COLA) - Jeff Reeves — Constable (urged 10% for deputies; supported 4% COLA) - Prathana (Parthena) Banerjee — County Engineer (discussed recruitment challenges and local hourly market rates) - Katie Connor — County Auditor (discussed Oracle and compensation study timing)

Authorities

- MIT Living Wage Calculator — referenced by Payne as the basis for a living‑wage comparison in the packet. - County group‑and‑step compensation policy and Oracle HCM configuration — referenced by HR and auditor as constraints on implementing flat or one‑time merit payouts. - Judge David Hilburn—iled a memo (read into record) expressing support for a COLA and recommending delaying a merit program.

Actions

- Direction / staff action: Nina Payne stated she will include a 4% COLA in the working FY2026 budget. (Outcome: staff direction; no formal adoption in the workshop.) - Recommendation: Staff recommended postponing implementation of a revised merit policy until county systems and processes can support a one‑time or person‑based payout. (Outcome: recommendation; no formal vote.)

Clarifying details

- Estimated budget impact of proposed 4% COLA: ~$3,300,000 (as presented by Payne). - County full‑time benefit‑eligible employee count referenced earlier in the meeting: ~1,058 employees (used by benefits staff in related presentation). - Living‑wage comparisons cited: MIT living‑wage figures cited in packet (Brazos County living wage cited as approximately $20.27/hour in the materials Payne referenced; county lowest budgeted wage cited as $17.98/hour in presentation). - Oracle reconfiguration timeline: county auditor said reconfiguring Oracle for pay ranges could take at least one year; compensation study recommended to guide changes.

Searchable tags: ["COLA","employee_compensation","Oracle_HCM","group_and_step","compensation_study","Brazos_County"]