Putnam County committee moves multiple 2.75% COLA adjustments, places PIO and arts funding in sub-contingency

Putnam County — The Budget & Finance Committee met Oct. 17 and approved a series of budget adjustments for the 2025 fiscal year, moving several 2.75% cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) out of sub-contingency into operating lines and placing selected outside-agency requests into sub-contingency for later committee review.

Legislators voted to move COLA funding for the county clerk, sheriff administrative staff and a set of additional personnel lines — including legislative and executive staff — out of sub-contingency into their respective salary lines. Committee members described most of the salary actions as bookkeeping and routine cost-of-living adjustments. “This is not a merit raise. It’s a cost-of-living adjustment,” said one legislator during the debate, urging the committee to approve the change as a separate matter from unsettled union negotiations.

That remark came amid repeated proposals from another member urging restraint: “I propose any raises or salary adjustments for elected officials to be kept in sub contingency until all outstanding collective bargaining agreements for our public workforce have been fully addressed,” said an unidentified legislator (speaker 12) during the meeting, reflecting concern that elected-official raises could precede or pre-empt union contract settlements. Other legislators replied that certain adjustments — such as the county clerk’s 2.75% COLA — were routine and unrelated to union bargaining.

The committee also addressed position and program changes in public health and social services. Mental-health OASIS funding lines were adjusted and several OASIS positions were formally split among the youth bureau, child advocacy center and Department of Social Services, with the administration noting opioid abatement funds would cover specific position changes. A request to restore a deputy criminal investigator position to the sheriff’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation was presented to the committee as a new position requested by the sheriff and moved forward for the budget.

On staffing and recruitment, health department nursing reclassifications and upgrades were placed into sub-contingency to support potential reclassification. Administration staff said recruitment efforts had attracted applicants who nevertheless declined positions; they said a compensation and recruitment review is underway to address pay and benefits as drivers of candidate decisions.

Outside-agency funding drew prolonged debate. Librarians and library advocates won an amendment to restore a $17,100 increase for licensing and programming across eight Putnam County libraries, with backers emphasizing libraries’ roles as technology hubs and emergency warming/cooling centers. In a separate motion, the committee moved $13,993 for the Putnam Arts Council into sub-contingency where it will be subject to further scrutiny and possible conditions. Supporters warned that reducing the county contribution to the arts program could reduce state matching funds; critics asked for greater oversight of re-granting practices.

Public information officers (PIOs) also featured in discussion. A motion to place $25,100 into sub-contingency for an additional PIO or to convert stipend arrangements into a split or salaried position passed, with proponents arguing for pay parity and predictable compensation rather than heavy reliance on overtime. “If you ask somebody to do something, it should be equal pay for equal task,” a legislator argued during debate.

Several other line-item and grant adjustments passed by voice vote, including health department grant corrections, social services equipment increases, sheriff-grant revenue changes and agency-specific temporary-line adjustments. Where conflicts of interest were relevant, a legislator abstained from a sheriff civil-division vote because a spouse works in the department.

What’s next: Items moved out of sub-contingency will be incorporated into the county’s proposed 2025 budget; several sub-contingency allocations (notably the Putnam Arts Council and the PIO contingency) were approved for further committee review, meaning final allocations and conditions may be set at subsequent hearings.

Vote-at-a-glance (major outcomes recorded in committee): county clerk COLA moved out of sub-contingency (motion carried); sheriff administrative COLA moved out of sub-contingency (motion carried); PIO funding placed in sub-contingency for further committee review (motion carried); libraries funding amendment to $17,100 approved (motion carried); $13,993 for Putnam Arts Council moved to sub-contingency (motion carried).

The committee adjourned after members asked administration to continue a recruitment and compensation review for the health department and to schedule follow-up committee discussions on several sub-contingency items.