Joint Budget Committee backs 2.5% across‑the‑board pay, approves 1.5% salary‑base reduction and 88/12 health premium split

DENVER — The Joint Budget Committee on March 11 approved core elements of the governor’s compensation package for fiscal 2025–26, including a 2.5% across‑the‑board salary increase and preservation of the negotiated step plan while also adopting a 1.5% reduction to the personnel salary base intended to capture vacancy savings.

The committee voted unanimously to adopt the staff recommendation for a 2.5% across‑the‑board increase and the 0.6% step‑plan adjustment that together form the administration’s broad salary survey proposal. Those actions were paired with a separate unanimous vote to apply a 1.5% reduction to the base salary line — a calculation staff said is intended to reflect anticipated vacancy savings rather than direct cuts to individual pay.

Why it matters: The combination of base building (the 2.5% and the step increase) and the one‑time base…