Judge proposes $1.20 hourly raise and department merit pools to close budget gap

The presiding official opened the meeting by pressing the court to settle its approach to pay increases for fiscal 2026, proposing a $1.20 hourly raise for most employees and a 20¢/hour departmental pool for merit awards. "One of the things that we need to get resolved is, are we gonna do an increase? Yes or no?" the presiding official said, asking commissioners to reach a decision in time to notify personnel.

The plan detailed that all nonexempt employees would receive a base $1.00-per-hour raise (about $2,080 annually) and departments would receive an additional 20¢ per hour per employee to allocate for merit; total individual increases would be capped at 5% unless the flat-dollar raise exceeded that limit. The presiding official told colleagues that the proposal reflects an effort to strike a balance between universal increases and performance-based rewards. "Each employee receives a base increase of $1 an hour. The remaining 20¢ per hour will be allocated for merit pay increase adjustments for deserving performance," the presiding official said.

Commissioners and staff pressed for numbers: staff modeled the impact at different raise levels and told the court that, after incorporating midyear staffing changes and insurance adjustments, the county could support roughly a 40¢ across-the-board increase without restoring capital items to the revenue budget. Commissioners emphasized that perpetual expenses must be reduced before committing to larger recurring raises.

The court did not adopt a final order during the session; instead staff were asked to reprint a revised budget showing the presiding official's suggested cuts and the pay scenarios for the reconvened session.