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County staff recommend 3% COLA and propose merit incentive option; health-insurance premiums could rise
Summary
County staff recommended a 3% cost-of-living adjustment for all employees and presented an option to add a performance-based 1% merit payment; staff also warned of a potential 15% health-insurance premium increase and proposed using pro-share reserves to offset roughly half that added cost.
At the April 15 workshop, Sheila Fitzgerald, the deputy county administrator, said county staff recommends a 3% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for employees next fiscal year and offered a possible additional 1% performance-based merit payment if revenue forecasts improve. "At this time, a 3% [COLA], with the potential that we may come back and update you on, potentially that additional 1%," Fitzgerald said.
Fitzgerald described a shift in the county's approach to performance assessment: the county moved from a formal scored performance-evaluation system to an annual "retention interview" intended to surface supervisory objectives and employee goals. She said supervisors would use those retention interviews and notes to identify employees eligible for merit awards, and HR will follow up to ensure supervisors complete the interviews.
Board members asked for more objective criteria and guidance on how merit awards would be evaluated; several commissioners urged that merit awards take the form of annual bonuses rather than permanent base-salary increases. Commissioner Goodwin said he preferred a one-time merit-based bonus so outstanding performers are recognized without automatically rolling higher salary into future budgets.
On benefits, Fitzgerald told commissioners the county faces a possible health-insurance premium increase and that staff recommends budgeting for up to a 15% premium rise. "Just for budgeting purposes right now, we're gonna plan on a 15% premium increase," she said, adding staff may refine that number with more claims data. Fitzgerald said the county has roughly $3 million in pro-share refunds and recommended using about half of that to offset the projected increase; the other half would be spread across fund levels.
Fitzgerald and the administrator discussed the county's recent compensation changes, including a move to a paid-time-off plan and prior COLA increases that helped reduce turnover from roughly 30% to about 18 percent. Hofstede said his preliminary guidance to staff is to plan budgets assuming the 3% COLA and hold the line on discretionary nonprofit allocations for now.
Ending: Staff will return with more concrete performance-evaluation guidance and refined health-insurance projections during the July budget workshops; commissioners asked staff to present objective criteria and cost estimates before final merit or bonus decisions are made.
