Adams County budgets 4.1% COLA, centralizes accounting and shifts positions into finance

The committee's budget presentation included personnel changes and compensation assumptions that materially affect departmental budgets. Kyle said the salary schedule would be increased by a 4.1% cost-of-living adjustment to align with the Midwest CPI, and that step increases would also apply where appropriate.

Health-insurance costs are projected to increase around 20%, with the county responsible for 85% of premiums. Kyle estimated the effect on employees—for family plans roughly $873 per year and total premiums just over $5,200; single-plan employees would see about $329 per year. The county is also centralizing several accounting functions: three positions moved from Health & Human Services into centralized accounting within the finance department, about 3.5 positions were permanently removed from the budget, and other reclassifications were made to reflect operational changes.

Department-level wage totals presented included $24,832,919 in wages and benefits budgeted in 2026 and $26,090,823 proposed for 2027, an increase of nearly $1.3 million. Kyle and other staff said some of the increases reflect reassignments of positions between funds and departments rather than new headcount across the enterprise.

Supervisors pressed staff for clearer reporting on maintenance account subtotals and for rerun reports that break out wages and benefits rather than showing aggregated 5-digit account totals; finance agreed to provide clearer output.