A majority of the Board of Commissioners voted 3-1 to adopt an amended version of Resolution 2024-43 that applies a 7% salary increase to county staff while explicitly excluding commissioners. The motion to amend and adopt the resolution was moved by Speaker 2 and seconded by Speaker 3, and Speaker 1 announced the final tally as "3 to 1, so the motion carries."

The measure, as discussed in the meeting, would raise some positions from about $12,000 a year to roughly $17,000 a year if the 7% option were applied, a scale of change that drew concern from several members. "When I look at numbers like that... that's an awful lot to me," Speaker 1 said, arguing the jump could be difficult to sustain within the county budget.

Speaker 3, supporting the amendment that excluded elected commissioners, said "it would be more attractive to me, the 7% deal, if we would exclude the commissioners," and later urged the commission to prioritize retention for critical departments including the sheriff's office and road department. "We need to dig and make a priority to see what we can do to keep what we have," Speaker 3 said, citing turnover in those departments as a principal concern.

On the question of whether the increase was already budgeted, Speaker 1 asked staff to clarify. Speaker 4 responded that their "understanding is that we have enough with the additional funds" and that the county "should be able to maintain this," while also warning that some future revenue sources and agreements (including certain PILT-like items) remain uncertain and cannot be treated as guaranteed. Speaker 4 added that the county would need to "revisit this in 4 years."

Despite those cautions, the amendment to Resolution 2024-43 carried. Speaker 1 said the decision was difficult and reiterated concerns about budget impacts and the need to "work on trying to see what we can do for the rest of the staff." The meeting concluded with brief closing remarks and adjournment.

Next steps: the amendment implementing the 7% increase will be reflected in county payroll processes and staff said they would monitor budget impacts and revisit the decision on the schedule discussed in the meeting.