York County HR outlines pay, benefits challenges; recommends minimum 4% GWI and proposes further study

York County Human Resources presented a detailed review of compensation and benefits pressures for FY26 at the April 1 work session, advising supervisors that the administration’s recommended general wage increase (GWI) — 4 percent plus a $500 one-time amount — should be viewed as a baseline to remain competitive.

Rose (HR presenter) opened the session by noting nationwide recruitment challenges, inflationary pressure and local competition for employees. She said many neighboring localities have implemented pay studies, step increases or higher starting salaries. “We are behind in a lot of these, which is why I put lagging in competitiveness,” Rose said.

Market comparisons presented by HR showed multiple examples where York County’s advertised starting ranges lag neighboring jurisdictions: a construction/maintenance worker ad from James City County offered starting pay roughly 14 percent above York County’s prior minimum; engineering positions in James City County and Newport News were shown at 7–13 percent higher at corresponding levels. HR also reported that the county recently raised its full-time minimum from about $27.06/hour to $31.08/hour (action taken in February) and that the impact of doing nothing would have left York County about 32 percent behind on some positions.

Rose summarized the county’s options: fund the recommended GWI so the county remains a competitive employer, or delay and risk higher vacancy rates and lower applicant quality. She said a compensation study would provide a comprehensive, market‑based pay structure but cautioned that such a study typically costs in the range of $250,000 and that implementing its results can require multi‑million dollar funding commitments. “If we ever do a study, it should be on broader compensation attributes,” one supervisor said; others proposed targeted mid-year adjustments focusing on high-vacancy job families rather than an immediate comprehensive study.

Public-safety staffing and certification were a central concern. Chief (Fire & EMS) and other supervisors described vacancies among firefighters and the county’s strategy of paying recruitment incentives and paramedic-certification support. The presentation noted existing policies and incentives: the county recently raised paramedic certification pay and offers hiring bonuses for candidates arriving with certifications. HR said paramedic training typically costs the county $8,000–$10,000 for tuition and instruction and that a new-hire incentive for a paramedic already certified is $4,000; the county requires certain new hires to remain a set time or repay training costs in other circumstances.

Benefits: HR proposed an 8 percent increase in plan rates effective January 1, 2026 (employee and employer combined) to reflect medical trend and projected claims. HR said current market medical trend for public sector is running roughly 10–15 percent and described newly added benefit items — an on‑site EAP counselor (weekly visits to four high‑use locations) and a standalone vision plan funded entirely by employees. HR recommended not reducing plan coverage to offset cost increases because health insurance is a core public‑sector recruitment and retention benefit.

Board reaction: Supervisors pressed for specific proposals tied to the highest-vacancy positions and asked administration to return with a mid‑course correction plan in six months that would show the market median for key job families, funding options and prioritization (for example, public works, fire/EMS, and deputies). Several supervisors said they preferred deploying available funds directly to employees in hard-to-fill categories rather than spending on a full compensation study immediately.

Ending: HR asked for direction to prepare a plan for targeted mid‑year adjustments and for a timeline and cost estimate to perform a compensation study if the board chooses to pursue one next fiscal year. No binding decision was recorded at the work session; supervisors directed staff to return with additional analysis.