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JCC Supes Discuss Employee BonusBy Desiree Parker Wednesday, November 23, 2011 James City County Administrator Robert Middaugh argued Tuesday that employees should get a bonus this year, and though no decision was made he seemed to have support from at least three board members. The county ended up with a surplus of about $6 million from the previous fiscal year, 2011, and thanks to spending less than expected managed to squeak out almost $2 million expected in the current fiscal year 2012, Middaugh explained to the Board during its Tuesday work session. He proposed the Board use about $568,000 of this money for one-time bonuses to all employees to the tune of $1,000 per full-time worker and $500 for each part-timer.“I wanted to offer our folks something meaningful,” he said. “It is especially important to employees who don’t make that much.” About 70 percent of employees make less than $50,000 per year, Middaugh said, and these are the people who will benefit the most from a flat-amount bonus. He cited the high cost of living, a roughly 30 percent increase in healthcare costs and no pay increases since 2008 as reasons for the current bonus suggestion. “[Employees] are in a worse place than they were four years ago,” he said. The county has asked employees to do more with less, and most people haven’t seen an impact in county service, Middaugh pointed out. A bonus is a way to tell employees that the county values their service, and “I can’t look them in the eye and say we don’t have the money to afford this,” he told the board. Chairman Mary Jones said she very much appreciated staff, but that she couldn’t support a bonus right now. There is “a lot of uncertainty” that impacted her decision, she said, including unknown state funding levels, how the upcoming real estate assessments will impact the county, what the county’s contribution to the state retirement system will look like and other variables. Though he wasn’t ready to say whether or not he’d support the idea, board member Jim Kennedy said he had reservations about the idea, too, citing the same uncertainties. He said he was concerned that “it is too premature, five months into the new fiscal year” to make the decision. He also said the school system will likely expect to do something similar if county employees get a bonus (WJCC already approved a small pay increase last year, he noted). To take more money from the community for this “will be a tough sell to the citizens,” he said. Board member John McGlennon said offering a bonus was more than just recognizing employees, “this is caring for the organization.” The county made an investment in the people it hired, he argued, and a bonus is an indication of how much the county values its people. “You've got to back that up in a tangible way,” he said. Board member Jim Icenhour said, “I don’t think there’s catastrophic uncertainty” in the county’s financial future. He also argued that “one-time money doesn’t add to long-term cost.” The two Democrats got support from an unlikely corner when Republican Bruce Goodson said he also felt like a bonus was a good idea. The county spent less than its conservative budget estimate, he pointed out, which he said highlighted that conservative budgeting really works. “I think it is very good to recognize the accomplishment through the year... a bonus seems reasonable.” The board will decide on the issue at its December 13 meeting. Middaugh said he’ll look at the possibility of raises with the board after January. |
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Comments
A reductions to folks of modest means might be something to think about. Like primary homes valued at less than $250,000. For retired folks making less than $50,000 per year. Might that be a good place to start?
Where did this idea come from to give public employees a raise? Being a goverment employee is the best deal out there! Benifits, pension and in most cases, wages more than the private sector. And when was a public servant ever laid off?
Well returning at least some of it to us taxpayers ought to be considered. We provided it in the first place.
But if county employees are indeed underpaid, then money to them could be the right idea, too.
I've not gotten a raise in 6 years and nobody's arguing to give me one, so I don't necessarily have a lot of sympathy for the 'but county workers haven't gotten a raise lately' argument. If they're really underpaid, that's different, though.
Some real data would be nice to see. How do our payscales compare to surrounding counties?
And the county where I grew up just let go a third of its IT department -- hardware advances made for less demand for PC technicians. How is JCC doing in that area?
The County is not the longest hold out, in Fact 2 other surrounding localities have not done anything sine FY 2009 also. The other issue to consider is the past decade, JCC gave the highest increases, and salary adjustments of any locality. The aggregate is greater over that time frame.
A compensation study was done last year, JCC is at or above average in most categories. And the health care and benefits package is among the best in the region.
The bonus raises many issues, but performance is also one of them. Why give the same to below average or average performers and penalize the top performers? And to give $500.00 to part time employees is just wrong.
In regards to Icenhour and McGlennon, and their budgetary decision making, I say look back to 2008's budget session, they voted against bonus's and spending reductions. Their rationale, things "aren't going to be that bad", I don't know about you, but I'm still hoping to see something get better. We are in line to go into a double dip recession, and possibly a depression, I hope I'm wrong, but the numbers don't look good world wide.
I think it's only fair to give some back to the people who worked harder to make up for the savings of $6 million.
Further, JCC should complete a compensation study to determine how the saleries of our employees compare with other municipalities in our area. We should be slightly better than the average.