Board approves cost-of-living pay change for supervisors tied to UPEC bargaining agreement

The Board of Supervisors voted to implement a salary resolution that applies cost-of-living increases for supervisors in accordance with the UPEC general bargaining-unit outcome.

Supporters framed the vote as administrative follow-through: Monica Puget (Support Services) told the board that the supervisors are tied by ordinance to UPEC and the resolution “would just implement the same cost-of-living increases that those groups receive.” Supervisors who supported the resolution emphasized that the prior board had linked supervisors’ COLAs to the UPEC outcome to avoid periodic controversy and to prevent the board from repeatedly deciding its own raises.

Opponents called for a different approach. Supervisor Matt Plummer argued the public should decide any change and that supervisors voting on their own pay raises creates a conflict of interest. He said he preferred a mechanism that removed raises from board discretion — including a charter amendment — rather than approving the current implementation.

After debate, the resolution was approved by roll call. The board recorded a 3–1–1 outcome (three yes, one no, one abstention) for the resolution that applies the UPEC-linked increases effective Jan. 11, 2026. The resolution applies the same percentage adjustments awarded through the UPEC negotiation process and is implemented administratively through the county salary schedule.

What happens next: The salary change is effective on the next pay period specified by the resolution; supervisors and staff will continue to discuss the broader question of whether supervisors’ compensation should be linked to a different benchmark or to a voter decision in the future.

Source: County staff presentation and board roll-call vote at the board meeting.