Stephens Co. Commissioners Up Pay Raise Proposal for Some Employees

Some Stephens County employees are set to receive an even larger pay increase after county commissioners made some changes to the proposed Fiscal Year 2017 budget.

Commissioners met Thursday at the Toccoa-Stephens County Airport to again discuss the proposed budget.

Under the changes made Thursday to the proposed budget, Stephens County employees who make $15 or less an hour are now slated to receive a seven percent pay raise instead of a six percent raise, while county employees who make between $15 and $20 an hour are now slated to get a five percent pay raise instead of four percent.

Stephens County employees who make more than $20 an hour will still receive a two percent pay raise.

County Administrator Phyllis Ayers said that as she looked at the budget further, she realized more money was available for pay raises.

“When we had the 6-4-2 and you multiplied the six percent, for everybody that fell in that category of less than $15 an hour, that is really just not a whole lot of money when you extrapolate it out, so I ended up having extra money left in the original bucket for the entire county and so to do the best we could to use everything in the original budget, 7, 5, and 2 (percent) ends up doing that and helps the employees that much more on their insurance,” said Ayers.

Stephens County Commissioners also discussed the millage rate, which is set to stay unchanged at 13.41 mills.

Commissioner Debbie Whitlock said she would like to see commissioners cut the millage rate by a quarter of a mill.

Whitlock referenced last year’s mill rate cut and says another one would be a positive thing for the county.

“I realize we need to keep money in case anything happens, I realize we still have to get our roads fixed and if we fall short, we are going to need that for our road department, but I would really like to give money back to the people,” said Whitlock.

However, County Commissioner Dean Scarborough said there is just too much uncertainty when it comes to whether there is enough extra unreserved fund balance to cover a mill rate decrease.

“You have two or three variables in that calculation that Phyllis just showed us, that are ‘if’s’, and you add that in with the Department of Labor rules, so I am just not so sure,” said Scarborough.

The commissioners decided to leave the millage rate unchanged at 13.41 mills in the proposed Fiscal Year 2017 budget.

Stephens County Commissioners are expected to vote on the Fiscal Year 2017 budget at their meeting on June 28 at 5:30 p.m.

A second reading and public hearing on the proposed Fiscal Year 2017 budget will take place at the June 28 meeting prior to the commission’s vote.