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Hardee County budget proposes 4% COLA, merit program and 14 new FTEs in FY26
Summary
Staff recommended a 4% cost-of-living increase and continued merit pay program, and included 14 net new full-time equivalents in the FY26 draft budget; county leaders said wage and staffing decisions aim to improve recruitment, retention, and core service delivery.
County staff asked commissioners to support a 4% across-the-board cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for county employees effective Oct. 1 and to continue a merit-pay program that funds up to 3% merit increases on anniversary dates. Presenters said those elements are included in the FY26 draft budget.
“This year in the budget, for the total budget, we requested a 4% COL increase across the board,” said Laurie Ayers, county staff, explaining the recommended October pay adjustment. Staff also described a merit program implemented last year; budget planners included $207,000 for merit increases (budgeted at roughly a 3% pool) and $543,000 to cover a 4% COLA across county employees.
Staff told the board the FY26 draft adds roughly 14 full-time-equivalent positions (net) across several departments to address operational needs: permit-processing in Building (a permit technician), two facilities maintenance technicians plus a custodian, an additional IT technician, a procurement buyer, parks and recreation groundskeeper/custodian, and public-works maintenance workers split between the two sides of the county. Several part-time-to-full-time adjustments were also listed in the presentation.
Why this matters: County presenters said the COLA and merit program respond to cost-of-living pressures and help retain employees amid a tight labor market. Staff cited an internal wage-compression correction completed last year and pointed to a county minimum wage of $15/hour (implemented previously) as part of an ongoing effort to align pay scales.
Commissioner questions and clarifications: Commissioners asked whether the merit pool would be fully spent and how the anniversary-date timing affects costs. Staff said budgeting reflected half-year timing effects for merit awards and included attrition assumptions; they expected the administered pool to be close to fully used. Commissioners also asked for breakdowns of salary splits by department; staff said those splits are available in the budget detail and can be presented on request.
Provenance: The pay and staffing proposals were presented during the FY26 budget workshop and are recorded in the workshop packet and presentation slides.
