Montgomery County Overhauls Employee Compensation Program, Awards Tourism Grants

Montgomery County Board Meeting | April 14, 2026

Article Summary:
The Montgomery County Board unanimously approved a new Compensation Administration Program on Tuesday, establishing formal merit-based pay guidelines and minimum starting rates for county employees. The board also awarded $5,000 in tourism grants to 12 local organizations and festivals.

County Board Key Points:

• The new Compensation Administration Program shifts the county toward performance-based merit increases.

• High-performing employees rated “Good” or above will be prioritized for higher pay increases within allocated budgets.

• The county awarded $5,000 in tourism grants, distributing the funds among 12 local applicants including festivals in Litchfield, Hillsboro, and Raymond.

HILLSBORO — The Montgomery County Board on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, unanimously adopted a comprehensive overhaul of its employee compensation policies while also injecting funding into local community events through its annual tourism grant program.

The newly approved Compensation Administration Program aims to standardize how the county pays and evaluates its workforce. According to the policy documents provided in the board’s agenda packet, the program establishes that all new employees should be hired at the minimum starting rate for their position unless special training or experience justifies a higher starting wage.

A major focus of the new policy is standardizing merit increases. Moving forward, annual pay bumps will not be guaranteed across the board. Instead, Elected Officials and Department Heads will allocate pay increases based on objective performance evaluations.

Under the new guidelines, high-performing employees who receive a “Good” rating or above are eligible for higher pay increases. Average-performing employees will receive modest increases depending on available funds, while low-performing employees rated “Poor” may receive a minimal increase or no increase at all. If budgeted funds remain after low performers are denied raises, the leftover money is to be redistributed to reward exceptional employees.

Board Member Chad Ruppert noted that the Bushue Human Resources policies for starting salaries and merit-based increases had been sent to all Department Heads for review prior to the vote, and no negative feedback was received.

In separate financial business, the board unanimously approved the distribution of $5,000 in Tourism Grants for 2026. The county received 12 applications requesting a total of $11,750, requiring the Development and Personnel Committee to score the applications and mathematically adjust the awards to fit the $5,000 budget.

According to the grant tally sheet, the highest awards of $625 each were granted to the Montgomery County Fair Association, the Litchfield Pickers Market, and the Old Settlers event.