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Davis County leaders debate pay policy: COLA, merit and a proposed 'bucket' for equity
Summary
County leaders discussed whether to prioritize cost-of-living adjustments or targeted merit/equity pay, debating a ‘bucket’ approach to reward top performers, citing limited budget capacity and rollout challenges. Approximate payroll costs and implementation next steps were raised.
Davis County leadership spent significant time debating how to distribute employee pay increases, weighing a uniform cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) against targeted merit or equity-based allocations.
Speakers debated whether continuing to give across-the-board COLAs risks compressing performance pay and diluting incentives. "If you're using performance to address equity, then performance means nothing," said Unidentified Speaker 3, summarizing a concern that broad merit-like increases can undermine differentiation between top and low performers.
Unidentified Speaker 1 suggested separating performance evaluations from compensation and using a departmental "bucket" or COLA for base pay while reserving a pool to reward top performers: "Maybe it's time to just give it a merit. Performance day. We're done," the speaker said. Supporters said a bucket can address both equity and merit but warned it would require a significant cultural change and a coordinated rollout with department heads and HR.
Participants cited rough budget math to underline constraints. Unidentified Speaker 1 said the county’s payroll implications are "roughly $3,300,000" tied to a 3% COLA and noted that 1% was being discussed at about $1,100,000, figures participants described as approximate. The group also discussed the trade-offs between recruiting advantages from COLA and the need to preserve funds for exceptional costs.
Speakers emphasized implementation complexity: a move to a bucketed or performance-based system would require a communication plan, HR engagement and changes to evaluation and pay practices. Unidentified Speaker 4 described the change as "a massive cultural shift for a county," saying departments and managers would need to be on board for a successful transition.
The meeting concluded with agreement to involve Human Resources for follow-up on the mechanics and rollout of any compensation changes. No formal motion or vote on a compensation plan was recorded in the transcript.
