Adams County Board adopts ordinance raising starting salaries for county clerk and treasurer, effective Dec. 1, 2026

The Adams County Board voted May 12 to adopt Ordinance 20265001011, which adjusts starting compensation for the county clerk/recorder and the county treasurer to the 75th percentile of comparable counties by population and adds a 3% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) annually beginning Dec. 1, 2026.

Executive Committee members explained the change as a data-driven effort to align salaries with comparable counties and to avoid repeated catch-up raises. The chair summarized current starting pay roughly as a $72,000 mark for the county clerk/recorder and about $68,000 for the treasurer and said the ordinance uses 75th-percentile benchmarks (figures cited in the meeting: $19,663 for a component number in the analysis and $82,239 for a treasurer comparator) to set the proposed starting points.

Board members raised questions about pension system (IMRF) implications and whether a state-level compensation mandate might later supersede the county ordinance. Supporters noted that a state compensation task force had recommended county-level benchmarks but had not enacted binding changes; they described the ordinance as a stopgap that the county would follow until a state reimbursement formula, if adopted, takes effect.

The board conducted a roll call vote; the ordinance passed with 19 members voting yes and two absent. The salary changes become effective for pay on Dec. 1, 2026, allowing the finance committee and staff time to budget for the increases.

Members discussed that IMRF contribution adjustments are likely and that the county must account for pension and benefit impacts in the next budget cycle. No member suggested reversing the action during the meeting.