DALTON, Ga. — Whitfield County commissioners, while scouring their budgets for cuts amid a tide of red ink, approved $357,000 in longevity pay increases Monday night.
Commissioners had warned county employees not to expect the raises after what has turned out to be a very tight 2010 fiscal year, but on Monday, commissioners said the raises were sorely needed rewards for long-term employees.
The measure passed with a 3-1 vote with Commissioner Randy Waskul objecting. He said county employees don’t expect to get the raises this year and that the money could be used to offset potential unpaid furlough days next year.
“Cutting longevity pay is not an equal sharing of the pain,” said Chairman Mike Babb, who only votes in case of a tie. “Longer-term employees took a hit with this cut while shorter-term employees did not.”
Waskul said the longevity pay would amount to about five furlough days in the 2011 budget, which commissioners will begin working on in the coming weeks.
“We’ve kept all the county employees employed while other counties have had furloughs,” Waskul said. “We gave all the employees a heads up last year that this was not going to be included in the budget.”
Whitfield County is facing a 17 percent shortfall in revenue while health care and retirement costs have been increasing.
“I think when making cuts, commissioners need to look at alternate areas other than benefits,” Commissioner Mike Cowan said. “Over the years, county jobs have always provided good benefits despite not providing the best pay.”
He said changing course now might reduce the talent pool and result in the county hiring employees at the bottom of the employment pool.
Over the last two months, commissioners have been asking department heads to come up with cuts equal or greater to the 17 percent shortfall when presenting budgets.
On Monday, the county heard its last budget presentations from its department heads. A few more hearings are scheduled for outside agencies that receive county funding. Then commissioners must vote on a new budget.
Contact staff writer Adam Crisp at acrisp@timesfree press.com or 423-757-6323. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/adam_crisp.