With no discussion, the Montgomery County Council approved a plan Monday morning to replace a pay raise for county employees with a one-time $2,000 bonus.

The bonus payout is part of the fiscal 2013 spending plan, which takes effect July 1. Council members are in the process of finalizing the budget. County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) proposed the lump-sum plan when he released his budget because of uncertainty in the economy.

The council honored the collective bargaining agreement with county employees, said Gino Renne, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Local 1994, which represents most county employees.

The union, however, is watching how the Montgomery County Board of Education handles raises for its staff, Renne said.

"If school board employees get an increase in their base salary, we'll be very vocal about the inequity that causes, widening the disparity between the two work forces," Renne said. "We're going to be very adamant about recouping that in the next year."

Some believe that, as government funding has gotten tighter, the burden of balancing budgets has fallen disproportionately on county and school employees.

UFCW members ratified the bonus proposal in early April, he said. Renne said the county and the union would work on health care cost containment that could be used for permanent wage increases.