Morgan County Council considering 4% raises for employees

The Morgan County Council finished meeting with department heads and elected officials Tuesday, Aug. 16 over their 2023 budget requests.

Armed with the information it received from the officials and department heads, the council will return at 8 a.m. Monday, Aug. 22 to begin crafting a budget for the upcoming year.

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It may prove to be an difficult task to fund everyone's needs.

The state has placed stringent restrictions on the amount of funding the county will receive in 2023.

At this time, the state has limited the county to a 5% increase in the amount of "new" funding it will receive.

Many departments have exceeded the 5% maximum with their proposed budgets.

At the end of the Aug. 16 meeting, council members discussed how much of a raise they would be able to give the employees. Both the council and commissioners have repeatedly stated the employees are the most valuable asset the county has.

Over the years, council members have attempted to give the maximum amount of pay raises they can to the employees and still remain within the state's restrictions.

Council members decided for 2023, they would attempt to give the employees a 4% pay increase, with the understanding that based on many factors, that number may have to be reduced to fit within the county's finances.

General fund

Much of the county's operation comes from its General Fund. Money for that fund comes mainly from property taxes. The amount of money the county can collect from property taxes is restricted by the state. Normal growth of that fund is limited.

In 2023, the state has said it would grow by 5%.

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Much of the budget process is based on estimates. The state estimates how much the county will receive up to 12 to 18 months in advance.

The county also receives funding from the Local Income Tax. Money from that tax is divided into several accounts such as Economic Development, Public Safety and the County's Central Dispatch Center.

There are other accounts that receive funds from the county's property tax rate. Cumulative Capital Development Fund, Cumulative Bridge Fund, the county's emergency medical service and the reassessment Fund are some of the accounts that have their own tax rate.

Sometimes, the council may use funds from another account to help a department that is funded by the General Fund.

An example is the county's parks and recreation department. Funding for that department is currently planned to come from the Local Income Tax Economic Development Fund. The proposed budget for the department in 2023 is around $361,000 which is up from the $203,000 requested in 2022.

Commissioner Kenny Hale has proposed hiring a part-time director for the department. That person would work around 24 hours a week and would be over all county-owned parks.

Hale said the parks need to hire four part-time people for maintenance/labor work in the parks. The county now has the Old Town Waverly Park, the Wilbur School House and Burkhart Creek.

Hale said the parks department need to create a 5-year plan which, once completed, will help the county apply for grants for the park system.

Much of Aug. 16's council work involved meeting with the county's judges and court-related departments. With the exception of the requested pay increases, all departments were within or close to their allowable budgets.

One department that was discussed at length was the central dispatch center.

Director Scott Hamilton spent nearly an hour discussing the needs of the center.

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At this time, it is planned that all county computer servers and related equipment will be relocated to the center on Lincoln Hill Road.

The relocation is needed due to the remodeling of the administration building and courthouse.

Hamilton said that will be a good time to update some of the equipment in the center.

He added some of it was new when the center opened, it along with the used equipment that moved to the center, is now out of date and parts are no longer available for its repair.

This article originally appeared on The Reporter Times: Morgan County Council considering 4% pay raises for employees