Larimer County commissioners back proposed 2027 pay plan for employees

Larimer County commissioners signaled support Wednesday for a proposed 2027 employee compensation plan built around a 2% market adjustment and a 2% merit increase, giving budget staff direction to keep those assumptions in department budget planning. Human Resources staff said employees who meet expectations would ultimately see a 4% increase in base pay, while the budget impact is estimated at about 3% because merit increases are awarded throughout the year rather than all at once.

HR Director Bridget Paris said the recommendation would maintain the county’s market-based compensation approach. She told commissioners the county is in its second year of using Colorado Public Employers Compensation Data and is seeing more stability in the market comparisons, though she said the year-over-year calculations are still not fully settled. Paris also said she tries to keep employees’ total increase ahead of inflation, which she said was about 2.5%, even if workers may not feel inflation at that level in daily costs such as groceries and gas.

Commissioner John Kefalas said he supported the recommendation and thanked staff for the analysis behind it. Later in the discussion, he said budgeting for the proposal meant planning around a 3% salary cost, and noted that when health insurance and benefits are added, the total comes to about 3.7%.

Commissioner Jody Shadduck-McNally also expressed support for the recommendation. The preliminary budget already includes the compensation assumptions, and Kefalas said departments would be prepared to build their budgets around them after adjustments were made in other areas to ensure funding was available.

During the work session, Kefalas also asked about an employee satisfaction figure he said was 88%. Paris said dissatisfaction often comes down to employees not being a fit for a position or supervisor, and sometimes from unhappiness with being held accountable for performance.