Nelson County adopts salary adjustments for FY26 and authorizes state-backed one-time bonuses

The Nelson County Board of Supervisors voted July 8 to amend the county's salary and classification system and to adopt an ordinance authorizing one-time employee bonuses tied to state funding.

Resolution R-2025-50 (salary and classification): County staff presented Resolution R-2025-50, which the board adopted. The resolution includes a 3% salary adjustment for Nelson County personnel (full- and regular part-time) effective July 1, 2025. It also applies a 6% increase to the pay range for public-safety dispatcher positions in fiscal year 2026 (to match a new Compensation Board salary scale for dispatch positions) and a 1.5% upward adjustment to pay ranges for other positions in the paid classification system.

Ordinance O-2025-O6 (one-time bonus): Separately, the board adopted Ordinance O-2025-O6, which implements a one-time 1.5% bonus for positions funded or partially funded by the state per the General Assembly's FY26 appropriation. County staff explained the state will reimburse the bonus for state-supported positions; the county will fully fund the bonus for positions not covered by the state. The county had already included the bonus and the salary adjustments in the FY26 budget.

Why it matters: The salary adjustments and bonus are intended to help Nelson County remain competitive in recruiting and retaining staff. Staff framed the pay-range adjustments as incremental measures to reduce the need for larger, less frequent increases in future budget cycles.

Vote and next steps: The board approved the resolution and ordinance by roll call; board members recorded "yes" votes for the measures. Staff committed to providing a detailed dollar figure for the county's gross cost of the bonus at a later date and noted auditors will include FY25 accrual adjustments when the fiscal-year close is audited through September.