Van Zandt County commissioners voted Friday to make salary increases included in the fiscal year 2026 budget effective with the pay period beginning Oct. 5, 2025. The court decided the Oct. 5 start would avoid an administrative split-pay period and reduce a substantial extra workload for the treasurer and human resources staff. A county payroll staff member said processing a split pay period would increase payroll work severalfold: "It will add three times the work," the staff member said. County legal counsel advised that, because the budget has not been adopted before Oct. 3, raises cannot legally be effective before Oct. 4; adopting an Oct. 5 effective date aligns with that guidance. A commissioner moved to adopt Oct. 5 as the effective date; the motion passed by voice vote.