Committee members spent substantial time discussing whether to proceed with first readings of several 2026 appointed-official salary ordinances or to defer action until January when the new administration takes office.

Personnel items introduced included ordinance No. 72-2025 (2026 Erie nonbargaining employees pay plan) and multiple appointed-official salary ordinances for county clerk, directors and assistant solicitors. Speaker 8 read the ordinance numbers and said they could be forwarded for first read this year.

Opponents of advancing the ordinances argued doing so before the new administration could be premature. "It would be silly for us to pass any of this now at the maximum wages," one member said, urging the council to wait so incoming officials can make appointment decisions. Members also flagged pension implications if employees work a few days in 2026: one member noted the pension code is "a little bit ambiguous" and cited past litigation in the city of Erie where short-term carryover affected pension calculations.

Proponents pointed to historical practice: wages for positions that operate across the change of administration have been set at the change of administration for the first few days of January to ensure pay and benefit calculations are possible. Speaker 7 summarized that these ordinances have traditionally been set to cover the initial days in January and to provide a rate for benefit payouts for those short spans of service.

No final decision or recorded vote was taken during the session. Several members proposed either tabling items or setting them for a procedural first read on the county's last meeting of the year with final action deferred to January; the clerk noted that items could be scheduled for a first read at the council's last meeting of the year and then return in January for final action.

Next steps: The ordinances remain in procedural first-read status pending scheduling decisions and possible legal review of pension consequences.