The 15-step pay plan for county employees adopted earlier this month by the Covington County Commission will add an additional $185,000 in expenses to the county’s budget.

Last week, the commission approved a scheduled of pay rates for county employees, and adopted a policy to handle promotions, transfers, demotions, cost of living adjustments, overtime, on-call procedures and pay for the road department, safety incentive pay and direct deposit for pay.

The plan goes into effect in the pay period that begins Oct. 27, for the Nov. 14 paychecks.

When the plan was passed, Commissioner Joe Barton said most employees would see an average of 3 percent increase in pay.

County administrator Brenda Petty said Friday that increases to each employee ranged from less than 1 percent to 4 percent.

Petty said the county will enclose notices in next week’s pay stubs. Each employee will receive notification of his or her new pay rate, plus a breakdown of their insurance and other benefits paid by the county.

“When you consider all of the benefits, it increases the hourly pay rate by an average of $7 to $8 per hour,” Petty said. “This is something we’ve never done and it’s way overdue.”

The estimated $185,000 increase in the county’s total expenses includes Social Security, retirement, and workman’s comp.

In addition to the increases in pay, commissioners agreed to absorb a 5 percent increase in employee insurance premiums.