Commissioners approve bonus and raise for county employees

White County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution March 21 that would authorize a one-time bonus as well as provide a 5 percent raise for all county employees.

The resolution, No 16-03-2022, had come under an intense amount of scrutiny in the past weeks as the county budget committee had brought more than one resolution to the full court in an attempt to dispense some of the funds the county had received from the American Rescue Plan to the county employees.

Originally, the budget committee had told county employees they were waiting on the final ruling to come from the federal government as to how they would be allowed to spend the funds despite the fact other counties were not waiting for that ruling.

After the ruling came in and it was determined the county could take a standard deduction toward losses they had experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, the discussions began about how to best make use of the ARP money.

In February, the county budget committee brought a resolution to the full court of commissioners that would give every full-time county employee a $3,000 bonus and every part-time employee a $1,500 bonus. However, the resolution failed when it did not receive eight votes in favor of it.

The budget committee took on the task again this month of determining what members felt was the best course of action for getting funds into the hands of the employees, battling between ideas of raises and bonuses.

Ultimately, the budget committee sent a new resolution to the full commission that called for the proposed bonus from the month before to be pro-rated over a 15-month period from Jan. 1, 2021 through March 31, 2022, with full-time employees receiving $200 for each month of employment during that time and part-time employees receiving $100 for each month of employment during the same time. The resolution does require an employee still be employed at the date the bonuses are awarded, meaning employees who have since ceased working for White County are not entitled to any of the funds.

Additionally, the resolution states that a 5 percent raise will be given across the board to all full-time and all regularly scheduled part-time White County employees effective June 30, 2022.

The resolution passed eight votes in favor, two against, and four absent. Cain Rogers, Andy Haston, Lonnie Crouch, Robert McCormick, Stanley Neal, Kyle Goff, Lanny Selby, and Dakota White voted in favor of the newest resolution, while Dillard Quick and T.K. Austin reiterated their opinions that they would prefer the county find other ways to get the money to the people. Dale Bennett, Terry Alley, Roger Mason, and Lee Broyles were absent from the meeting.

“I really wasn’t pleased with the amount,” Austin said. “I feel that it was too high. There were other people that worked just as hard and just as long through the pandemic as the county employees, and they didn’t get anything. I don’t feel that it was the right thing for the county.

Austin further stated that he had always been in favor of a raise, it was the bonus that he was not in favor of.

“I feel that [the money] could have gone to several different things and got at least a one-to-one match on it,” Austin said. “This way, we don’t get that one-to-one match, and this way there’s probably 15 to 20 percent of it that will go back to the government in income tax. It feels like a waste to me.”

On the other side of the vote, Dakota White said he had been a proponent of bonuses from the beginning of the process.

“An investment in a county employee is an investment in the county,” White, who drove from Gatlinburg where he was vacationing with his family in order to be present for the regular meeting on March 21, said. “I’ve taken dozens and dozens of phone calls from different county employees. I’ve gone to the landfill and talked to them face to face. I’ve talked to many of the deputies. I’ve talked to the road department. Most people feel that this would be a good cause and a good show of love from the county to the employees.”

White went on to say he did not feel that passing both a raise and a bonus would have a negative effect on county taxes in the near future.

“The bonus comes from the ARP, and it’s a one-time thing. That’s why it should be labeled a bonus,” he said, “and a 5 percent raise does not put us into any deficiencies. This is a $500,000 investment in our employees that should have happened two years ago. There’s no deficit created, and I can say that with optimism. What happened tonight is not going to be a drain on the county in any way.”

White went on to say he had talked with the county’s attorney, John Meadows, about the information circulating that the passing of a resolution that could use ARP funds as a bonus for county employees could bring about a lawsuit from other entities who felt they were owed funds as part of the American Rescue Plan.

“He [Meadows] said that the final ruling that came out gave a maximum amount of $10 million that we could use for bonuses. We gave $500,000. We are well within our means in a lawful manner,” White said. “Again, I am very supportive of this resolution -  I have been from the beginning - and I am glad that it passed today.”