Sagadahoc commissioners set preliminary 3.7% COLA; debate wage-study transparency and three-year review plan

Sagadahoc County Commissioners on Tuesday, Feb. 25, adopted a preliminary 3.7% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to include in the county's preliminary budget for fiscal planning, and reviewed a recently completed wage study and a proposed policy to stagger nonunion pay reviews on a three‑year cycle.

The 3.7% figure was adopted for planning purposes so the budget advisory committee would have a consistent number to work with during upcoming budget hearings. One commissioner described the figure as a preliminary planning number and said the final COLA could be adjusted later in the budget process.

The vote followed several public comments calling for more transparency about the county’s wage study and about how wage adjustments are set. Kelly James of Georgetown urged the county to make wage‑study materials available to the public before meetings and said she believed the county was not complying with the state Freedom of Access Act. “I requested a copy of the wage study,” James said during public comment, “and every time I make a request, I honestly feel like I’m ignored.”

Wendy Wright of Bath said she reviewed Bureau of Labor Statistics data and compared it to local salaries, arguing some line‑level positions should be higher. “For our area … the weekly hourly range should be $31.43,” Wright said, and she pointed to specific county positions she said earn less than comparable local jobs.

County staff told commissioners the wage study drew on work by other Maine counties and county administrators. According to staff, the county participated in wage studies run by Aroostook and Kennebec counties, took averages of those studies, excluded outliers, and supplemented missing figures by contacting Lincoln and Cumberland county administrators for their numbers. Staff said the wage study had been completed recently and would be provided to the commissioners and to the public.

Commissioners discussed whether to hire an outside firm for future studies or rely on neighboring counties' surveys. Several commissioners said they favor moving to a scheduled three‑year cycle for comprehensive reviews of nonunion wages, while reserving the option to make targeted, year‑to‑year adjustments where individual positions are “egregiously” under market rates or at risk of losing staff. One commissioner cited a prior, targeted pay change for communications staff during the COVID period as an example of taking action outside formal bargaining cycles to retain essential personnel.

The commissioners and staff also discussed how a COLA combined with targeted wage adjustments can affect the county’s overall budget and the tradeoffs among wages, capital, and operations. Commissioners agreed to give the budget advisory committee the preliminary COLA number so the committee and the board could see planning‑period impacts early in the process.

The meeting record shows no final, detailed pay changes were approved at Tuesday’s session; the 3.7% figure was entered as a preliminary planning assumption for the budget.