Lee County commissioners approve 5% pay raise for county employees, constitutional offices

LEE COUNTY, Fla. (WINK) — Lee County commissioners approved a 5% pay increase for county employees and constitutional offices as part of the county’s final budget, increasing the raise at the last minute after commissioners had previously settled on 4%.

• SEE ALSO: Lee County commissioners weigh budget cuts ahead of November property tax vote

The change came Tuesday during Lee County’s final budget hearing for fiscal year 2026-27. Commissioners voted 3-2 to increase the pay adjustment from 4% to 5% before ultimately approving the county’s final budget. The decision comes as county leaders are preparing for uncertainty surrounding future property tax revenue, including the potential effects of Amendment 3.

During the hearing, county officials said the millage rates needed to fund the upcoming budget were driven in part by continued investments in public safety, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, emergency medical services, transportation, health costs and employee wage adjustments. The countywide millage rate was set at 3.7623 mills, about 0.89% above the rollback rate.

• SEE ALSO: Marceno defends LCSO spending as commissioners weigh budget

Commissioners had spent part of an August budget workshop debating how large of a pay increase the county could afford, eventually reaching a compromise of 4%. That changed at Tuesday’s final hearing. Commissioners voted 3-2 to increase the adjustment to 5% for county employees and constitutional offices. Commissioners Brian Hamman and David Mulicka opposed increasing the raise from the previously discussed 4%.

During the discussion, concerns were raised about committing additional recurring dollars to salaries at a time when future county revenue remains uncertain. Hamman said he wanted to stick with what commissioners had agreed to during the previous budget workshop.

After the vote, Hamman explained that preserving reserves could become important if Lee County experiences a significant drop in revenue. He pointed to the Great Recession, when Lee County used reserves to balance its budgets without increasing its millage rate, and said the county could again face revenue pressure from declining property values or Amendment 3.

The pay increase also applies to employees of constitutional offices, including the Lee County Sheriff’s Office. County budget schedules show the Sheriff’s Office receiving approximately $345.4 million from the General Fund for FY 2026-27, compared with approximately $327.7 million adopted for the current fiscal year.

That’s an increase of approximately $17.7 million, or 5.4%. When all funds are included, county documents list approximately $359.7 million for the Sheriff’s Office in FY 2026-27, compared with approximately $342 million adopted for FY 2025-26.

Earlier in the budget process, Sheriff Carmine Marceno requested a 5% compensation adjustment for Sheriff’s Office employees as part of his priority funding requests. The final budget hearing ultimately returned the employee increase to 5%.

WINK News has reached out to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office for more information about why the agency believes the 5% increase is necessary, how much the increase will cost the agency and how LCSO is preparing for potential future revenue changes.

WINK News has also reached out to Hamman and Mulicka about their votes against increasing the pay adjustment from 4% to 5%. Lee County commissioners ultimately adopted the final countywide budget without objection. The board later adopted the final total FY 2026-27 Lee County budget without objection.

This story will be updated as additional responses become available.