As Delaware rings in 2015, most state employees will also receive a bump in pay.
Full-time state employees aside from teachers and others with separate salary structures will get a $500 raise in their base pay with their first paycheck this month.
Last January, Gov. Jack Markell (D-Delaware) proposed a one percent, across the board raise, but state lawmakers said they couldn’t afford the roughly 16 million dollar price tag as revenue continued to fall.
The legislature also partially deferred those costs by delaying the raise until the New Year, which is halfway through Delaware’s fiscal calendar.
The latest revenue forecast remains flat as Markell begins finalizing his proposed budget for FY 2016. He’ll unveil his spending plan and his State of the State address later this month.