Sampson County took a multi-million dollar stride this week toward keeping pace with other counties in recruiting and retaining employees, as the fight wages on between local governments for coveted workers in skilled positions.

That stride was at least a $3.2 million one, unanimously approved by the Sampson County Board of Commissioners after the second of two special-called meetings in as many weeks. We say “at least” because the approval came with a stipulation that some “discrepancies” brought to light by department heads would be addressed that could inflate the number.

Employee salaries are being boosted across the board after a long-awaited market study evaluating employee compensation was completed. The county paid $50,000 for the study, along with the many manhours spent by department heads, administrative staff and the Human Resources department to collect all the necessary data to properly and comprehensively evaluate the county’s workforce — positions, classifications, salaries, benefits, etc — that were then compared with the market.

We applaud all the efforts, as our county leaders did. But it doesn’t come without a cost that will be footed by the taxpayer.

And, minus additional streams of revenue, it could also mean reducing services, operations or funding in some areas in future budgets, as those millions are a recurring expense, not a one-time deal. The first-year expense is being footed from rainy day funds, and county leaders said it was pouring. But that money will have to be found in some form or fashion in the coming years.

That is the literal cost of doing business, they conceded, one that has risen as the years pass.

And there is still the task of ensuring that we have, and keep, people in the positions for which we are fighting.

That was the very crux of the argument that Sheriff Jimmy Thornton made when he inundated his own Facebook page for months about the difficulties he was encountering in retaining deputies for pay he said was simply too low. We were losing qualified, dedicated workers because of noncompetitive pay, he said, and his hands were tied to providing a diminished patrol to serve and protect the entire county because he simply didn’t have the manpower.

The county’s move puts Sampson in a position where those deficiencies can be shored up. We hope they are.

We value, and depend on the work of our first responders, Detention Center staff, our health and social workers, and those whose everyday job is to look after this county and its people.

Specifically, the roughly $3.2 million measure will provide a 1% increase for each year in the position (capped at 9 years because the last pay study included a years-in-position increase and it has been nine years since that study was completed), aligning position titles and classifications with job descriptions, addressing pay compression issues and ensuring no employee will receive a decrease in pay.

Additionally, it would provide an additional 4% COLA to the salary study recommendation for all employees to maintain market competitiveness.

No COLA was included in the county’s current budget while surrounding counties implemented them, putting the county behind the 8-ball. However, nearly a decade since the last comprehensive market study, the county did seemingly keep pace with market conditions overall, with some departmental exceptions, according to the numbers provided by consultant Baker Tilly.

A comparison of current midpoints against market average midpoints were prepared for the county, showing the county’s minimums are 0.2% ahead of market minimums on average; midpoints are 0.1% ahead of market midpoints on average; and county’s maximums are 2% behind market maximums on average, according to Baker Tilly.

The county’s move, made in the middle of a budget year, aims to get out in front of the market.

With its approval, 203 employees would not receive any increase other than the recommended 4% COLA, while the bulk of the county’s employees will receive more than that, some 15-20% or more.

According to county officials, some of the biggest pieces of the pie would go to the Sheriff’s Office (makes up 34.3% of the proposed funds with an average salary boost of 17.6%); Social Services (makes up 23.5% of the proposed funds with an average salary boost of 8.2%); and Detention (makes up 10.8% of the proposed funds with an average salary boost of 15%).

For some departments, that means salaries by the end of 2023 will have risen well over 30% in just the last few years.

County board chair Jerol Kivett painted a realistic picture of what the county was getting itself into to remain competitive. A business owner himself, he said he simply wouldn’t be able to do what the county was doing, regardless of how deserved — essentially taking out a loan against the taxpayers to pay higher salaries. It was a good way to stay in the hole, he said.

We hope the county isn’t digging one too deep.