SWEETWATER COUNTY – Sweetwater County employees may see a bump in their wages July 1 if a proposed resolution allowing a 3 percent salary increase is approved.

The Sweetwater County Board of County Commissioners will consider a resolution to give employees a 3 percent cost of living allocation for the upcoming 2025-2026 budget. Full-time, part-time, temporary and grant-funded employees are eligible for the increase. Chief deputies serving under elected officials are eligible for the increase, so long as it isn’t prohibited by another resolution. Elected officials are not eligible for the increase, and it doesn’t apply to employees within the county’s component units, which include the county’s library system, events complex, and museum.

The commissioners have previously spoken about a desire to provide a cost of living increase to employees if they could support one while working on the county’s budget. Budget work continues, as a budget hearing will take place at 3 p.m. following the commissioners’ regular meeting.

The commissioners will also consider several board appointments after their lunch. This includes three appointments to the Southwest Counseling Services Board of Directors. An employee and former board member, Kim Bramwell, approached the commissioners during their last meeting and requested Board Chair Kayleen Logan and Treasurer Kristy Kauppi not be reappointed to the board. Bramwell alleged a “troubling decline” in transparency with the board that has eroded employee trust in the organization’s leadership. Bramwell said questions have been raised about agendas the two have, as well as their influences on decisions and outcomes.

“The decline in transparency is during their tenure,” Bramwell said.

The commissioners meet Tuesday at 9 a.m. at the Sweetwater County Courthouse in Green River. The meetings are open to the public and are streamed on the county’s YouTube channel. An agenda can be found here.