Lowndes County employees may receive their first pay raise in two years if Lowndes County Supervisor Jeff Smith gets his way.
Smith encouraged fellow supervisors to consider a raise for the county”s 300 employees by the beginning of the county”s fiscal year Oct. 1. They received a 5 percent raise during the 2008-2009 fiscal year, but were denied the next two years due to the downswing in the economy.
“I know we”ve been through a recession,” Smith said. “Things have been tight. But this county has done well through that.”
Smith said this morning that he feels at least a 5 percent raise is fair and doable.
“Anything less than 5 percent wouldn”t really impact the employees in terms of quality of life,” he said. “Because of the two years they”ve gone without, and the cost of living going up, I think at least 5 percent is in order.”
Smith said due to the completion of several large projects, including the renovation of the courthouse, he believes the county may be able to divert the cost savings to fund the pay increase.
“We”ve invested in the quality of life for the taxpayers, now we need to invest in the quality of life of the people who provide the services,” he said.
Smith also pushed the board to resolve drainage issues in the East Columbus subdivision of Deer Field, and the supervisors voted to turn the project over to the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Development Authority.
Property owners will have to sign off on a plan to alleviate flooding in the area before the project can begin.
County engineer Bob Calvert said pipes in the subdivision are undersized for normal flood frequency, and overgrown ditches are an additional problem.
Frequent flooding not only vexes the residents, Smith said, it also compromises the integrity of the roads.
“They”ve recently been paved, and you can”t even tell it, because we can”t keep them drained,” Smith said. “There”s water on them all the time.”
In other matters, the board agreed to sign legal documentation stating that the county has no interest in the old Baldor building, which was sold six years ago to an auction company. Signing the document clears potential title issues for the new owners, explained County Attorney Tim Hudson.
The board also approved spending $11,157 to fix a dead spot in the county”s radio repeater service. Teletech will conduct the repairs.
Supervisors also agreed to spend up to $5,000 to review the county”s internal control system.
Carmen K. Sisson is the former news editor at The Dispatch.
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