Lawrence County approves 3% COLA for most nonunion, management employees; court hires, technical amendments cleared

Lawrence County’s Salary Board voted unanimously Monday to grant a 3% cost-of-living adjustment for most nonunion and management employees, effective Jan. 1, 2026. The board also approved a higher base salary for the county’s treatment court coordinator and adopted technical amendments to an earlier courts resolution.

The board chair introduced Salary Board Resolution 2026-1 to implement a 3% COLA for full‑ and part‑time nonunion and management staff in court‑related offices, and later extended the same adjustment to most county departments, the comptroller’s office, the coroner, sheriff, treasurer and other offices. “This will implement a 3% cost of living adjustment to take effect on January 1 of 2026 for full and part time non union and management employees,” the chair said as the board took the measures up in sequence.

The most substantive debate concerned the courts’ request to reset the base salary for the treatment court coordinator. President Judge Cox told the board the historical base had been $40,000 and that the county was struggling to recruit at that level. “With the…