The Butler County salary board approved pay raises Wednesday for nonunion employees effective Jan. 1

The board, which consists of the county commissioners, row officers and department heads, approved the increases in a meeting before the commissioners meeting.

Salaried exempt employees were given 3.25% raises. Nonexempt hourly employees were given 3% raises.

Employees in all offices and departments are eligible for the raises. The motions for the raises included department, agencies and court employees, and employees in the offices of the clerk of courts, controller, coroner, district attorney, prothonotary, register of wills, recorder of deeds, sheriff and treasurer.

The commissioners, during their meeting, approved an agreement with redevelopment and housing authority to administer the 2025 Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement grant for the First Time Home Buyer Down Payment Closing Cost Assistance program.

The agreement is for $155,000, which includes $80,000 in program funds and a $75,000 match from the county’s Act 137 funds generated from Recorder of Deed’s office fees for recording deeds and mortgages.

With other leveraged funds, the total program budget is $212,000. The authority expects to assists 16 households through the program by awarding an average of $5,000 per household.

The authority will use $24,000, or 30% of the program funds, to benefit households below 50% of the county’s median area income. The remaining 70% will be used to benefit people or families within 80% of the median area income.

The program will target county residents who have not owned a home in the last three years and who live or work in the county by providing a match toward down payments and closing costs for the purchase of a new home.

The commissioners also agreed to apply for a 2026 Residential Substance Abuse Treatment program grant from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.

Prison Warden Beau Sneddon said the funding would support the Medication Assisted Treatment program, which treats inmates with substance abuse issues.

The commission on crime and delinquency expects to fund five grants of up to $200,000, and requires a 25% match from the county.