Mercer County commissioners agree to budget changes including deputies' pay bump and road reserve transfer

Mercer County commissioners and staff on a special budget session agreed to several payroll and line-item changes to the county2026 preliminary budget, including a $1.50 hourly increase for road deputies and moving $22,000 from a proposed shop mechanic line into a county road cash reserve.

The decisions, reached after line-by-line review of department worksheets, also include removing a $47,600 planned line for Kurt Olsen, approving a $2-per-hour raise for a jail employee listed as Sandy Bridal, and adding a $964.44 annual stipend bump for each commissioner. County staff said they would update the "blue book" (the published budget packet) and circulate corrected pages to commissioners in the coming days.

Why it matters: the changes affect the countygeneral fund and departmental reserves, and commissioners said they wanted to keep the final appropriations within levy and state reporting deadlines ahead of a public hearing and final adoption schedule in October.

Most significant items and next steps

- Road deputies: Commissioners agreed to increase the road deputy pay rate to $1.50 per hour above current rates (the meeting record shows commissioners had previously discussed $1.25 and $1.50 options). Staff said the increase is affordable under updated revenue and payroll calculations and will be reflected in the final draft.

- Shop mechanic/road reserve: The road department's preliminary budget had included a shop mechanic line that originally totaled about $85,000 in earlier materials; after staff adjustments the dedicated mechanic line was reduced to about $22,000. Commissioners voted to remove the mechanic line as a separate hire and move the remaining $22,000 into a county road cash reserve to cover future needs or temporary hires.

- Removal of Kurt Olsen line: Commissioners agreed to remove the $47,600 allocation tied to Kurt Olsen; staff said the position or contract is not needed in the coming fiscal year.

- Jail and sheriffpay items: The board approved a $2-per-hour bump for a jailer (listed in meeting materials as Sandy Bridal) and confirmed inclusion of six full-time road deputies in staffing tables (a seventh position was noted as hired or otherwise covered). The sheriff's office requested other wage adjustments that staff said would be reflected in the blue book.

- Commissioners' stipend: As part of the payroll edits, commissioners agreed to add $964.44 to each commissioner's annual compensation (the meeting packet showed the amount and staff calculated the impact on the general fund).

Staff direction and schedule

Carmen (staff member handling budget materials) said she would roll the changes into the county's budget documents, update the blue book, and provide revised pages for review. Commissioners confirmed a public hearing on the budget is scheduled for Oct. 1 at 11:00 a.m.; staff said final action must be completed in time to meet statutory publishing and certification deadlines (the meeting discussed an Oct. 10 cutoff for completing the process).

Discussion vs. formal votes

The meeting transcript records the commissioners directing staff and approving the adjustments by consensus rather than taking separate roll-call votes on each line item. For example, action to reallocate the mechanic line to county road reserves and the deputies' pay increase were implemented through the board's agreed changes and subsequent staff updates rather than separate formal motions with recorded roll-call tallies in the transcript. Carmen confirmed she would circulate final revised budget pages by email within days.

Clarifying details recorded in the meeting

- Deputies: $1.50 per hour increase agreed (the meeting previously considered $1.25). - Shop mechanic: originally shown as $85,000 in earlier sheets; staff reduced the line to around $22,000 and the board moved that $22,000 to a county road cash reserve. - Kurt Olsen: $47,600 removed from the budget. - Commissioners: $964.44 annual increase per commissioner. - Jail employee (Sandy Bridal): $2-per-hour increase approved for payroll inclusion. - Transfer/topline corrections: staff identified earlier arithmetic errors on the front page and corrected departmental social security/benefit allocations before finalizing totals.

Community impact and implementation risk

These edits alter personnel costs and reserve balances but staff told commissioners the changes would keep the county under the preliminary levy cap and within expected fund balances. Implementation depends on final blue-book revisions, payroll processing, and the Oct. 1 public hearing schedule; staff called implementation risk "medium" because final adoption still depends on the required public-hearing and certification steps.

What's next

Staff will circulate updated budget pages and a final blue-book draft for commissioners to review. The board will hold the public hearing on Oct. 1; commissioners said they would revisit any outstanding items before final adoption to meet statutory deadlines.