Flathead County Elected Officials to See Mid-year 2% Wage Adjustment
The compensation board unanimously supported the adjustment, which will be reflected in employee wages after Jan. 1
By Maggie Dresser
The Flathead County Compensation Board on Nov. 17 voted unanimously to recommend a 2% mid-year wage increase for elected officials, which will be reflected in employee wages after Jan. 1, 2026, according to a press release.
The compensation board is comprised of Flathead County commissioners Pam Holmquist, Brad Abell and Randy Brodehl, County Attorney Travis Ahner, Sheriff Brian Heino, Treasurer Adele Krantz, Clerk of Court Sara Smith and citizen representative Jim Trevino.
Under Montana law, the wage increase extends only to elected positions but directly ties to deputy sheriff wages. The county has historically applied elected official adjustments to other employee groups to maintain a “consistent and competitive compensation structure.”
According to officials, the decision stems from an ongoing effort to keep up with current labor market conditions and to restore compensation levels that were moderated in recent years due to “prudent fiscal planning.”
In June, the compensation board began discussing the possible mid-year adjustment as part of the fiscal year 2026 budgeting process and updated taxable values and the inflation factor was finalized in August. The inputs required by state law were higher than anticipated and were adjusted.
Flathead County since fiscal year 2022 has been taking a “conservative approach” by setting annual Cost-of-Living Adjustments lower than Consumer Price Index (CPI) levels.
“Every time we come to a compensation board meeting, the conversation isn’t as much about the elected officials as it is all our other employees these decisions affect,” Ahner said during the meeting.
County officials clarified the wage discussion is “entirely separate” from the recently approved $105 million Public Safety Bond.
“By law, bond proceeds may only be used for capital expenditures – not wages, not operating costs and not any other form of personnel expense,” Flathead County Administrator Pete Melnick said. “In fact, we do not expect to receive the bond sale proceeds until late March of 2026, well after the board’s deliberations.”