Greene County Council rescinds proposed 2.7% COLA and approves departmental budgets without raises
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Summary
The Greene County Council voted to rescind a previously approved 2.7% cost-of-living adjustment and, in separate votes, approved department budgets that remove this raise. Council members said they will revisit pay issues later as final budget numbers firm up.
Greene County Council voted Wednesday to rescind a previously proposed 2.7% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for county employees and approved departmental budgets that omit that raise.
Council members moved quickly through department budget votes after passing the rescission. Councilors said the step is a temporary measure while staff complete final calculations and run the numbers that show the impact of the COLA, fringe costs and other budget pressures.
The move began when a commissioner said, “I make a motion to rescind my original motion for the 2.7 COLA rates.” Council discussion then reviewed last year’s salary ordinance discrepancies and statewide revenue pressures. The body later recorded the rescission as approved and proceeded to vote on budgets for individual offices with the 2.7% raise removed.
Why it matters: Council members described the decision as fiscal caution amid uncertain state revenue and other costs. Several commissioners urged that staff return with precise figures before any additional pay decisions are made; several members said they remain concerned about recruiting and retention without periodic raises.
What the council did: Over the course of the hearing the council approved department budgets for many county offices — including the sheriff, auditor, assessor, health and EMS budgets — with the COLA removed and with corresponding adjustments to employer FICA/retirement lines. Votes were taken either by voice or roll call depending on the item; the transcript records multiple motions to amend earlier 2.7%-inclusion votes to “no raises.”
Councilors repeatedly said the rescission does not permanently preclude pay action: they left the door open to revisit raises later in the budget process after finance staff calculate the final bottom line.
Votes at a glance (selected): - Motion to rescind the 2.7% COLA: approved (roll call recorded in meeting transcript; transcript shows the motion carried). - Department budgets (auditor, assessor, sheriff, health department, EMS, and many others): council approved budgets “minus raises” in a series of motions and voice votes; where a roll call was used the result is recorded in the official minutes. (See provenance for transcript evidence spans.)
What comes next: Council members directed staff to return with updated totals showing how removing the 2.7% would affect retirement, holiday pay and line items. Commissioners said they expect to revisit specific pay or parity requests (notably courthouse security and a few department requests for new positions) later in the budget session.
