The White County Budget Committee received needed input from other Commissioners Monday night in trying to find a budget plan that would pass.
With a fast approaching deadline and a warning from the Comptroller, Commissioners found some common ground on key issues like employee raises. Commissioner Chris Brewington said he wanted raise amounts to be equal across the board, even for those below the poverty line.
“Some [employees] were getting $7,000 and $8,000 because they had to be above poverty,” Brewington said. “And then, say you had to give them $3,000 to get them up to poverty, then you give them $4,000. To me, that’s not fair. To me, if you’re going to give some of them, everyone’s below poverty. Give them all poverty and then give them $4,000.”
Brewington said he would not vote for something he felt was unfair. Other commissioners agreed there were issues with the raise structure, which would later lead to the across-the-board amount increasing to $4,500.
Brewington was asked why he voted no for the first budget proposal, which included a $1.57 property tax rate. The rate would have brought in enough revenue to substantially improve wages, but Bruington said he voted it down because the rate was too high.
Commissioner Roger Mason gave his input supporting a full time Parks and Recreation Director and a full time EMA Director. He said having these positions as full time spots provides a large return on investment.
Other commissioners, however, wanted to keep the EMA Director position part time. Commissioner Derrick Hutchings said he supported the position converting to full time, but was willing to scrap the change to pass the budget.
Budget Committee Chair Kyle Goff said the Commissioners can not determine the position’s merit. Goff said the EMA Director was still underpaid for a part time role.
“Can we agree on an increase in pay for the part time position?” Goff asked. “I think the last budget we sent out was $25,000.”
Finance Director Chad Marcum confirmed the current EMA Director salary is $15,000, and Goff said there has been an additional $6,000 budgeted for another part time EMA employee. To increase the salary, the Commissioners decided to absorb the second employee since the position has not been filled.
Discussion then shifted to longevity pay, which was ultimately rolled into employee raises for everyone except the Highway Department. Hutchings said employees in the general fund favored a larger raise over longevity pay, but the Highway Department would rather have the longevity pay.
That change suggested by Commissioner Dakota White, who favored a larger raise but wanted a compromise. The Commissioners decided to fund the Highway Department with two pennies of the property tax rate so they could offer longevity pay if they chose to do so.
After all the changes made, Commissioners were down to two options: A property tax rate of $1.41 and a deficit of some $350,000 or a $1.40 rate with a deficit of some $450,000. Budget Committee members expressed concern about dropping tax rates further and in turn raising the deficit.
The $1.41 proposal was passed out of committee, but the motion was rescinded when the Commissioners realized they still would not have enough votes to pass it at full court. Many Commissioners were firm at the $1.40 rate, but the Budget Committee’s motion to send the lower rate version to full court failed.
A brief recess followed, and the Committee negotiated with the opposed Commissioners to get the budget back up to the $1.41. Brewington and Becky Golden were the two remaining no votes. Brewington said he would flip because something needed to get done. Golden said she would also vote to approve the budget.
“Whatever you put it at, I’m going to vote yes,” Golden said. “I’m just a yes person all the way right now.”
The $1.41 proposal would pass the Budget Committee 3-2 on the second try. It will meet the full County Commission on August 18. It needs eight votes to pass, and failure means the Comptroller will come in and pass a bare-bones version of the budget.
