The Elk County Salary Board approved a 2.5% cost‑of‑living adjustment for county employees not covered by collective bargaining agreements and ratified a 3% pay increase for elected officials during a salary board meeting. The board also acknowledged that wages and benefits for employees covered by three bargaining units remain frozen at their Dec. 31, 2024 levels while negotiations continue.

The board’s action will apply the 2.5% adjustment to non‑bargained employees’ final 2024 rates of compensation. Commissioners voted to ratify a previously set 3% increase for elected officials for 2025 "as per Resolution 2022‑19," which the board affirmed during the meeting.

Why it matters: the adjustments affect the pay and benefit calculations that employees use when making open‑enrollment and retirement contribution decisions and set compensation baselines the county will use in its 2025 budget assumptions and payroll processing.

Details of board action and discussion: the board approved the meeting agenda and minutes from Oct. 3 and Oct. 31 before taking the pay actions. The 2.5% cost‑of‑living adjustment was described as applying to all county employees not covered by a collective bargaining agreement and based on each employee’s final 2024 rate of compensation. The 3% increase for elected officials was described as already established by Resolution 2022‑19 and was ratified by the board rather than newly set.

Board members discussed the status of three separate union bargaining units that had not reached agreement as of the meeting. The board noted that contracts for the court‑related prison unit and two commissioners’ units remain unsettled; as a result, wages and benefits for employees in those units have been frozen at 12/31/2024 rates and any 2025 cost‑of‑living adjustments for those employees have not been determined. Several members expressed concern that employees must set retirement contribution levels and insurance choices during the county’s open‑enrollment period without knowing the outcome of bargaining negotiations; board members discussed whether negotiation timing could be accelerated but noted bargaining timelines are driven in part by the unions and their internal processes.

Votes at a glance: the board unanimously approved the meeting agenda, unanimously approved the Oct. 3 and Oct. 31 minutes, unanimously approved the 2.5% COLA for non‑bargained employees, and unanimously ratified the 3% elected‑official increase tied to Resolution 2022‑19. A motion to adjourn carried and the meeting was closed.

The board set a follow‑up meeting; the clerk announced the next meeting date and the session adjourned.