Rutherford government workers get 6% raises; county picnic to be held near 3 landfills

Most Rutherford County government workers will get up to 6% raises by July, officials decided Monday.

The raises include a 4.25% cost of living increase that's higher than the 2.5% for county school district employees.

The school district's 6,800 employees are getting less of a cost of living percentage increase because the Rutherford County Board of Education decided to cover more of the rising health insurance premium costs, district Director James "Jimmy" Sullivan said.

The Rutherford County Commission agreed to the pay raises as part of a nearly $895.6 million budget without a property tax hike for a fiscal year that starts July 1.

County Mayor Joe Carr had initially recommended a 5% raise for cost of living and step increases in pay for a Rutherford government with 1,800 full-time employees and 300 part-time workers. The commission's Budget, Finance & Investment Committee decided to increase the compensation recommendation by up to 6%, Carr confirmed after the meeting.

Pay issue for government workers: Employee raise dispute emerges between Rutherford mayor, property assessor

The commission also voted unanimously on retaining a property tax rate of $1.8762 per $100 of assessed value. The majority of the commissioners the previous year voted 13-8 for a 16.1% property tax hike.

The 4.25% cost of living increase to the government pay tables combine with step increases of 1.75% for eligible workers, such as employees yet to top out from pay scales. Most of Rutherford's government's workforce, including for the elected sheriff, are on the county pay plan. The Property Assessor, County Clerk, Register of Deeds and Highway offices that are also led by elected officials have their own pay plans, County Human Resources Director Sonya Stephenson said after the meeting.

Eligible school district employees also get step increases in pay. The overall budget includes $549.8 million to fund the main operations for the county school district.

The overall budget has about a $12 million deficit to start the fiscal year to provide funding for three charter schools opening in August, Mayor Carr said.

Tax relief: 16.1% property tax hike won't apply to eligible tax freeze recipients who already applied

Budget cuts bonuses for teachers at hard to staff schools

Prior to approving the budget, the commission heard Sullivan explain why his district decided to eliminate stipends (bonuses) of $4,000 each for teachers working at hard to staff schools: La Vergne High, La Vergne Middle and Roy Waldron Elementary in La Vergne the past school year.

Sullivan said that teachers at other nearby schools, La Vergne Lake Elementary and Cedar Grove Elementary, questioned why they didn't get stipends, too.

Blackman Elementary in west Murfreesboro also had been one of the schools deemed as a hard-to-staff school in 2022-23.

The district's teacher recruiting has improved, so the hard-to-staff school stipends are unnecessary, Sullivan suggested after the meeting.

Who's educating students? Teacher shortage weighs heavy on La Vergne High School in 2022-23

County government picnic will be near 3 landfills

Mayor Carr announced that over 350 county workers said they would attend the county's first picnic from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. July 1 at the end of Landfill Road by where the county is building a solid waste transfer station.

"We're going to have a good time," said Carr, who encouraged the elected county commissioners to attend the picnic.

The picnic location is on property where the county has two closed landfills and is adjacent to the private Middle Point Landfill off East Jefferson Pike in Rutherford's Walter Hill rural community north of Murfreesboro.

"No, there is no smell of trash," Carr told the commissioners. "No, you cannot see the trash. And yes, I think you'll enjoy some good barbecue from the Slick Pig and some good music. So I hope you can attend."

Commission backs $20M solid waste plan: 'We need a transfer station for Rutherford County'

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This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: Rutherford government workers get 6% raises; picnic near 3 landfills