The committee voted to provide county departments with a tentative 2% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) guidance for budget planning, with the understanding that final decisions will wait for revenue estimates expected next month.

Staff said they had not yet received revenue projections because the finance director position had recently changed and work on worksheets was still underway. A committee member referenced the 2026 Social Security cost-of-living estimate of 2.8% as context for selecting a conservative 2% figure. The chair and members emphasized the guidance is temporary and can be adjusted once official revenue estimates are available.

The committee approved the motion by voice vote; members noted this guidance is an administrative planning tool rather than a final appropriation. The committee also discussed a separate merit pool concept to distribute additional salary adjustments internally within departments.

Next steps: Finance staff will publish worksheets with the 2% guidance to department heads; the figure will be re-examined and adjusted when revenue estimates are available.