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Washington County approves amended salary ordinance, will pay 2026 rates on 2026 paychecks
Summary
After extensive public comment and a presentation by Reedy Financial, the Washington County Council approved an amended salary ordinance clarifying pay calculations in years with a 27th biweekly pay and decided paychecks issued in 2026 will be paid at 2026-approved rates to avoid ongoing confusion about hourly and overtime calculations.
The Washington County Council on Feb. 2 approved an amended salary ordinance to address how the county handles years that include a 27th biweekly pay, resolving months of questions from employees and members of the public.
Payroll consultant Caitlin Schafer of Reedy Financial Group told the council the county faces two main options when a 27th pay occurs: use a "redivisor" (divide annual pay by 27, which preserves annual pay but lowers biweekly and hourly rates) or keep the "status quo" (maintain the current pay rate and absorb an extra paycheck). "I am not here to tell you to go one way or the other. I am here to just give you the facts," Schafer said during her presentation.
Employees at the meeting described concrete consequences. A long‑time employee who identified himself as from the sheriff’s department urged the council to protect overtime earnings, saying the redivisor would reduce a sample deputy’s hourly rate from $29.74 to $28.64 — a $1.10 hourly drop that would also lower overtime pay. "I'm asking you to be fair to the men and women who choose to work for Washington County," he told the council.
Council members discussed several technical fixes: clarifying which workers are truly hourly, simplifying the addendum so hourly positions show only an hourly rate, and adding a clause specifying how to treat hours worked in a prior calendar year when a paycheck spans two years. Reedy Financial and the State Board of Accounts guidance were cited as background on the options and clerical trade‑offs.
For simplicity and consistency, the council agreed to remove the "salary nonexempt" classification from the addendum (leaving "salary exempt" and "hourly") and to pay any paychecks issued in 2026 at the 2026‑approved rates. The council voted to approve the amended salary ordinance by voice vote; staff said they will circulate clean and redlined copies and calculate any back pay required from prior payrolls.
The council also directed the auditor's office to calculate the fiscal impact of the chosen approach; an auditor's estimate circulated in the meeting suggested county general fund effects could be substantial but staff said the precise total will be calculated and brought back to the council for appropriation decisions.
The amended ordinance passed in the meeting, and staff will implement the revisions and follow up with a redline copy for review before final signatures and payroll changes take effect.
