- December 15, 2025
Salary comparisons show Flagler County workers’ wages are below those of Palm Coast, Ormond Beach and St. Johns County workers.
He stressed it several times: By showing the Flagler County Board of County Commissioners comparisons between their workers’ salaries and those of their counterparts in surrounding governments, County Administrator Craig Coffey wasn’t asking for raise approvals. He was just stating facts.
“What I’d like to do is see where we’re sitting financially (in next year’s budget), and see what we can afford to do,” he said April 3. “We don’t have to make that decision today, but I wanted to lay the groundwork of why I’m thinking this way.”
Community Development Director Joe Mayer then began showing slides.
Of the positions selected from a salary survey conducted by the Florida League of Cities and the Florida Human Resources Public Employees Association, he said, not one wage was higher in Flagler than in a nearby competing government.
The average starting salary for a Flagler custodian, for instance, is 4.32% lower than that of a custodian in St. Johns County, Ormond Beach or St. Augustine.
A staff assistant IV starts 17.77% lower in Flagler than in St. Johns, Daytona Beach or Palm Coast.
A transportation driver starts 12.88% lower than in St. Johns, for Voltran Bus Service or for the local School Board.
A human resources analyst starts 24.77% lower than in Daytona, St. Johns, St. Augustine and Palm Coast.
Even the fire chief, Mayer added, starts 6.89% lower.
“There are actually captains and lieutenants (around us) making more than our chief,” Coffey said.
“There is nothing that we pay above grade,” Mayer added. “Some where we might be right on, but none over. “
In January, Coffey recommended that three of his employees be added to the county’s Senior Management Service Class, thereby increasing their retirement benefits. He brought it up again at the April 3 workshop, but the board opted to wait until they see next year’s budget to make any decisions.
“It’s not just about the pay,” Coffey said. “It’s about, ‘We care about you. You’re a core person of the team.’”
The lower wages also don’t reflect workers’ higher contributions to health care, the lack of merit raises or cost-of-living adjustments the past three years, or the estimated 9.1% consumer price index drop since 2008.
Making three employees “senior management” would mean an annual increase of $3,746. Giving every county employee a 3% raise would cost about $800,000.
“We realize that there’s sensitivity associated with talking about (raises) when we still have a lot of people unemployed, but it is an issue that a lot of companies have to look at because … we are starting to lose quality employees,” Deputy County Administrator Sally Sherman said. “We have employees who are losing their homes, and we have employees who struggle to put food on their tables.”
Coffey will make his budget without raises but include what the impact would be with different percentages of wage increases. All constitutional officers have been asked to do the same.
“People say, ‘Well, employees shouldn’t get anything.’ Well, employees didn’t cause the downturn,” Coffey told the board. “And I don’t know when the economy is going to fully recover. So (if our strategy is to wait), we should tell our employees.”
The county’s first budget workshop is scheduled for 9 a.m. Monday, April 9, at the Emergency Operations Center.
'WAGE'ING WAR
County Administrator Craig Coffey’s salary presentation to the board was intended to address the misconception that all government workers make big money, he said.
The breakdown of pay brackets and the number of full-time workers who fill them is as follows:
Salary Range Employees (out of 289)
Under $20,000 23
$20,000-$30,000 59
$30,000-$40,000 56
$40,000-$50,000 97
$50,000-$60,000 21
$60,000-$70,000 14
$70,000-$80,000 8
$80,000-$90,000 3
$90,000-$100,000 3
More than $100,000 5
*State statute says that a salary below $29,000 is under “living wage,” meaning it cannot qualify for benefits.
