Calhoun City administrator Paul Worley said the raises are temporary for now but may become permanent if adequate funding is found.The city council in Calhoun, Georgia, approved mid-fiscal year hourly pay increases for city and public safety employees last week, an increase of $1 per hour more for city employees and $1.50 more per hour for public safety employees at the Calhoun Police Department and Fire Department.
Employees must either be full time or work at least 18 hours per week on a part-time basis to be eligible and must make less than $78,100 annually. The increase will be put into place in time for the first pay period of February.
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The raises, which will be funded by American Rescue Plan funds approved by Democrats in Congress last year, are intended to make the city more competitive and attract top talent. They are currently considered temporary, as the American Rescue Plan funds are only available once, but city administrator Paul Worley said city officials are working to find a permanent funding solution.
"We are very excited to be able to offer this raise to city employees and public safety employees. It helps people deal with inflation and the cost of living but it also will help us, as the city, to attract the best possible people when we lose employees to retirement or when they leave, for whatever reason," Worley said during a call with the Times Free Press on Friday morning. "Right now, we are funding the raise through the American Rescue Plan but our goal is to be able to fund these increases permanently."
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Worley said the August opening of Buc-ee's, a 53,200-square-foot shop featuring 120 gas pumps, homemade Texas barbecue, fudge, pastries and a variety of other items, has provided such a large boost in local sales taxes that the city may be able to fund the pay increases largely utilizing sales tax money. If not, city officials will likely turn to more traditional methods to raise the money.
"Buc-ee's has been a boon on our sales tax numbers. We're not solely relying on that, though," Worley said. "We have a low millage rate for a city of our size. The mayor and city council have said we may look at making small, incremental increases there for funding and also for hiring new public safety to keep up with the growth we're seeing in population."
Worley said he does not yet know what the millage rate would increase to if the city were to move forward with that funding plan.
"That would depend on discussions between the mayor and city council," he said Friday.
Also at the meeting on Monday evening, Calhoun Mayor Jimmy Palmer swore in council members Ed Moyer and Ray Denmon, as well as school board members Andy Baxter, Rhoda Washington and Stephen King, all of whom were elected in November.
Contact Kelcey Caulder at 423-757-6327 or kcaulder@timesfreepress.com.