A 4.5% raise for Carroll County employees this fiscal year could create a financial headache once officials begin budget negotiations for next year.

The money for the salary increases, totaling $4.9 million, came from the county’s surplus, and is considered one-time funding, meaning the Board of Carroll County Commissioners will have to find another funding source in fiscal 2026 to keep the raises going.

Commissioners’ President Ken Kiler in an interview Monday said while it was a great thing to give county employees a raise, the decision creates ongoing financial problems for the county.

“It’s a great thing, but it’s not such a great thing,” said Kiler, a Republican who represents District 2. “The last week of the budget [session] we took one-time money to give raises, which just digs a hole for next year and the next year, and the next year. It’s like going to the bank and taking your savings and putting it down on a new car, but you don’t know how you will make the first month’s payment.”

In May, commissioners adopted a $545 million budget for fiscal 2025, which began on July 1. County officials agreed it was a frustrating process as they worked to eliminate a $12.4 million budget deficit and ultimately decided not to raise property taxes.

Commissioners Thomas Gordon III (District 3) and Ed Rothstein (District 5) voted against adoption of the budget, with Rothstein going on the record as opposing the use of $5.8 million of surplus money to balance the county budget.

Though Kiler voted in favor of the budget, along with commissioners Joe Vigliotti (District 1) and Michael Guerin (District 4), in his July podcast, the first-term commissioner said he was “not thrilled” with the decision to use one-time savings to balance the this year’s budget.

Some county agency employees did not get a raise this year — Carroll County Public Library employees are getting a one-time bonus instead. Last week commissioners unanimously approved the library system’s use of $169,200 from its fund balance, or savings account, to use for staff bonuses. In July, commissioners released an additional $169,200 in county funds for library employee bonuses, bringing the total amount to $338,400.

Kiler said though commissioners fund the library system, they do not tell it how to use its money.

Lisa Picker, the library’s director of communications, said Monday that the bonuses will be distributed to roughly 260 employees by the end of October.

Jillian Edelen, the library’s director of Finance and Analysis, said last week that library officials have not yet determined how much of a bonus each library employee will receive. The amount will be based on the length of time an employee has worked for the library system and whether the employee is hourly or salaried, Edelen said.