County wages set for FY 2026

The Adair County supervisors passed an official motion to allow for a 5% salary increase for county workers during their Wednesday, Jan. 29 meeting.

County Attorney Melissa Larson will receive a $10,000 wage adjustment without the percentage jump.

County workers who are under salaried officials receive wages that are based on the salary of their superior.

These rate increases generally follow recommendations made by the county compensation board in late December.

As the one who has actually prepared the budget, County Auditor Mandy Berg said she thinks all these numbers fit just fine within the overall picture.

“The 5% is included in our numbers, and our fund balances to end the next year look good with 5% increases in there. The only thing I worry about is the reason our fund balances are in good position are because this year and last year we’ve had good turn backs of funds,” Berg said. Funds turned back generally return to the fund they came from.

Berg said that limitations posed by House File 718 weigh heavy on county budgeting functions. The legislation, based on how much valuation growth a county has, had a goal of limiting how much counties can levy in the general and rural funds. This means amounts received from property tax is much lower. Increased valuation growth going forward will mean levies will continue decreasing, according to the formula, Berg said.

“The only thing I worry about is what it’s going to look like next year and the year after that on the limited increase we can get on property taxes,” Berg said. “It’s totally doable and we can do it with these numbers, but I’d be curious how it’s going to work moving forward.”