The Fisher County Commissioners Court has been engaged in budget discussions since early June, and while there have been some revisions to the proposed budget, the court has yet to approve or disapprove employee salaries. As discussions about pay raises have historically been an intensely debated topic, commissioners will have much to discuss during this upcoming Monday’s meeting.
The court met in a special called meeting late last month, and while Commissioner Gordon Pippin’s proposal that the court considers consolidating its resources into a road and bridge department dominated latter discussions, the reason the court had convened the special called meeting was to prepare the FY 2022 budget.
Coming into the meeting, the only changes to the budget since early June has been a $15,000 increase to the clerk's office for an additional employee, as well as an additional deputy to the sheriff's roster. The court has received several requests from other departments but has taken few steps toward approving or disapproving those requests.
June discussions were light and largely informational but heated up over July with County Attorney Michael Hall and Commissioner Preston Martin engaging in frequent debates, and Commissioner Kevin Stuart’s precinct budget proposal, which sparked Pippin's counterproposal to consolidate the precincts.
With one of the county’s most heavily debated budget topics still undetermined, Fisher County Judge Ken Holt proposed an alternative to annual salary increases during the special called meeting in the hope of avoiding arguments about pay.
“Every year, one of our big arguments is raises,” said Holt, “which was horrible last year, and could be worse this year.”
Holt said he would like the court to consider making significant policy revisions and amendments to the county's longevity program as an alternative to granting raises. His proposition was to look into establishing a percentage salary increase that could be awarded each year based on an employee's years of service.
The concept would establish a base pay and increase employee salaries by a percentage annually. When the employee leaves, the salary returns to the original base pay for the incoming employee. The idea is to prevent a fresh, often inexperienced employee from having a starting salary equal to the pay of their more seasoned predecessor.
Using the clerk's office as an example, Holt said that since Thomson has held office for more than 20 years, her annual pay with longevity might be considerable. However, if she were to leave office, the salary would revert to the original base pay, and a new ladder starts.
“The way it is now, if she walks away, whoever comes in starts up there with the top salary again,” said Holt.
If the commissioners gave any consideration the Holt’s proposal, they chose not to discuss it, opting instead for debates about part-time versus full-time employees and the hourly rates of courthouse office personnel compared to County Road hands.
While the discussions lightly touched upon other departments’ requests, the focus was on whether or not to grant raises. Commissioner Pippin recommended the court look at increasing salaries for office assistants, which Commissioner Martin disputed, saying that the court gave office personnel raises, it would also have to increase salaries for road hands.
“You have somebody sitting on a $350,000 piece of equipment, they have all the maintenance and all that stuff. Somebody else just has to pick up a phone. There’s a little difference in that,” said Martin. “You can't have a secretary making as much as a road hand.”
This was met with forceful protest from Clerk Thomson and other department heads, and the meeting ended shortly after with little further discussion. With the possibility of an across-the-board cost-of-living increase as well as other salary alternatives, the commissioners will continue budget discussions during the meeting scheduled for this upcoming Monday.