JeffCo Employees Getting 3% Raises In Budget Passed Thursday

 ========= Old Image Removed =========1Array
(
    [_wp_attached_file] => Array
        (
            [0] => 2021/09/Lashunda-Scales-Joe-Knight-go-over-2022-budget-2048x1239-1-e1632151699365.jpg
        )

    [_wp_attachment_metadata] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:5:{s:5:"width";i:1200;s:6:"height";i:675;s:4:"file";s:85:"2021/09/Lashunda-Scales-Joe-Knight-go-over-2022-budget-2048x1239-1-e1632151699365.jpg";s:5:"sizes";a:10:{s:6:"medium";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:85:"Lashunda-Scales-Joe-Knight-go-over-2022-budget-2048x1239-1-e1632151699365-336x189.jpg";s:5:"width";i:336;s:6:"height";i:189;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:5:"large";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:85:"Lashunda-Scales-Joe-Knight-go-over-2022-budget-2048x1239-1-e1632151699365-771x434.jpg";s:5:"width";i:771;s:6:"height";i:434;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:85:"Lashunda-Scales-Joe-Knight-go-over-2022-budget-2048x1239-1-e1632151699365-140x140.jpg";s:5:"width";i:140;s:6:"height";i:140;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:12:"medium_large";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:85:"Lashunda-Scales-Joe-Knight-go-over-2022-budget-2048x1239-1-e1632151699365-768x432.jpg";s:5:"width";i:768;s:6:"height";i:432;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:83:"Lashunda-Scales-Joe-Knight-go-over-2022-budget-2048x1239-1-e1632151699365-80x80.jpg";s:5:"width";i:80;s:6:"height";i:80;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:13:"wbhm-featured";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:85:"Lashunda-Scales-Joe-Knight-go-over-2022-budget-2048x1239-1-e1632151699365-800x450.jpg";s:5:"width";i:800;s:6:"height";i:450;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:20:"wbhm-featured-square";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:85:"Lashunda-Scales-Joe-Knight-go-over-2022-budget-2048x1239-1-e1632151699365-600x600.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:600;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:18:"wbhm-featured-home";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:85:"Lashunda-Scales-Joe-Knight-go-over-2022-budget-2048x1239-1-e1632151699365-553x311.jpg";s:5:"width";i:553;s:6:"height";i:311;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:85:"Lashunda-Scales-Joe-Knight-go-over-2022-budget-2048x1239-1-e1632151699365-470x265.jpg";s:5:"width";i:470;s:6:"height";i:265;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:85:"Lashunda-Scales-Joe-Knight-go-over-2022-budget-2048x1239-1-e1632151699365-125x125.jpg";s:5:"width";i:125;s:6:"height";i:125;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}}s:10:"image_meta";a:12:{s:8:"aperture";s:1:"0";s:6:"credit";s:0:"";s:6:"camera";s:0:"";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:17:"created_timestamp";s:1:"0";s:9:"copyright";s:0:"";s:12:"focal_length";s:1:"0";s:3:"iso";s:1:"0";s:13:"shutter_speed";s:1:"0";s:5:"title";s:0:"";s:11:"orientation";s:1:"1";s:8:"keywords";a:0:{}}}
        )

    [_wp_attachment_backup_sizes] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:11:{s:9:"full-orig";a:3:{s:5:"width";i:1200;s:6:"height";i:726;s:4:"file";s:62:"Lashunda-Scales-Joe-Knight-go-over-2022-budget-2048x1239-1.jpg";}s:14:"thumbnail-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:70:"Lashunda-Scales-Joe-Knight-go-over-2022-budget-2048x1239-1-140x140.jpg";s:5:"width";i:140;s:6:"height";i:140;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:11:"medium-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:70:"Lashunda-Scales-Joe-Knight-go-over-2022-budget-2048x1239-1-336x203.jpg";s:5:"width";i:336;s:6:"height";i:203;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:17:"medium_large-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:70:"Lashunda-Scales-Joe-Knight-go-over-2022-budget-2048x1239-1-768x465.jpg";s:5:"width";i:768;s:6:"height";i:465;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:10:"large-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:70:"Lashunda-Scales-Joe-Knight-go-over-2022-budget-2048x1239-1-771x466.jpg";s:5:"width";i:771;s:6:"height";i:466;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:14:"wbhm-icon-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:68:"Lashunda-Scales-Joe-Knight-go-over-2022-budget-2048x1239-1-80x80.jpg";s:5:"width";i:80;s:6:"height";i:80;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:18:"wbhm-featured-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:70:"Lashunda-Scales-Joe-Knight-go-over-2022-budget-2048x1239-1-800x450.jpg";s:5:"width";i:800;s:6:"height";i:450;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:25:"wbhm-featured-square-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:70:"Lashunda-Scales-Joe-Knight-go-over-2022-budget-2048x1239-1-600x600.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:600;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:23:"wbhm-featured-home-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:70:"Lashunda-Scales-Joe-Knight-go-over-2022-budget-2048x1239-1-514x311.jpg";s:5:"width";i:514;s:6:"height";i:311;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:27:"wbhm-featured-carousel-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:70:"Lashunda-Scales-Joe-Knight-go-over-2022-budget-2048x1239-1-438x265.jpg";s:5:"width";i:438;s:6:"height";i:265;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:19:"post-thumbnail-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:70:"Lashunda-Scales-Joe-Knight-go-over-2022-budget-2048x1239-1-125x125.jpg";s:5:"width";i:125;s:6:"height";i:125;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}}
        )

    [_media_credit] => Array
        (
            [0] => Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
        )

    [_navis_media_credit_org] => Array
        (
            [0] => BirminghamWatch
        )

    [_navis_media_can_distribute] => Array
        (
            [0] => 1
        )

    [_wp_attachment_image_alt] => Array
        (
            [0] => Jefferson County Commission
        )

)
1650600649 
1631788168
Jefferson County Commission

Jefferson County commissioners Lashunda Scales and Joe Knight go over 2022 budget during a meeting in September 2021.

Solomon Crenshaw Jr., BirminghamWatch

Jefferson County Commissioner Joe Knight displayed a more relaxed countenance Thursday when it became clear the 2022 Jefferson County budget would be balanced and approved.

“Since about the middle of July, it’s been one thing after another,” said Knight, who chairs the commission’s finance and budget committees. “The best part of my year is going to be Monday when me and my wife take off for a week.”

The $882,750,611 budget, passed unanimously by the commission, includes a 3% across-the-board raise for county employees. That accounted for an additional $3.3 million to the payroll.

“Then you add $1.7 million of merit raises in that next year,” Knight said. “That moves that starting point up $5 million. But the projection of the revenue is there, so we want to take advantage of that and give our employees a little something that they haven’t had in a while.”

Knight said he researched records back to 2008 and saw cost-of-living adjustments (COLASs) had been as high as 2½% and a few times 2%.

“But there was half that time was zero, we couldn’t do COLAs,” he said. “This year, we know that the employees have been through a lot. We want to continue to keep our employees engaged and happy. I wish we could have done more.”

Employees also get the benefit of an additional holiday. In committee, commissioners talked about making that new holiday Columbus Day. However, during the commission meeting about an hour later, Commissioner Lashunda Scales asked that the new holiday be Juneteenth, saying that selection would demonstrate more diversity and inclusion, and commissioners agreed.

Knight said he tried to produce a conservative budget because “as COVID has taught us, you never know what’s going to be happening down the road.”

Before ending the meeting, Commission President Jimmie Stephens recalled darker days of county finance when nearly 1,000 employees were laid off.

“I want you to understand, please, that … the economy is cyclical,” he said. “When [revenue] drops, there are going to be some tough choices to make. We need to remain fiscally responsible to establish our surpluses. They will help us carry us through.

“I have no intention – and I’ll repeat that – I have no intention to go through what we did in 2010, ’11, ’12 and ’13. And we will do everything as a commission to make sure that that we don’t.”

 

Trump Administration to resume collections on student loan borrowers in default

The Education Department says millions of borrowers in default will have a chance to make a payment or sign up for a repayment plan. But on May 5, those who don't will be referred for collection.

The Justice Department and Google battle over how to fix a search engine monopoly

After a federal judge ruled that Google had a monopoly on the search market, the tech giant and the government are in court to debate penalties. One possible result: forcing Google to spin off Chrome.

Trumps welcome thousands to the White House for the annual Easter egg roll

President Trump welcomed an estimated 40,000 people to the South Lawn of the White House on Monday for its annual Easter egg roll event. The annual tradition dates back to the presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes, and save for war and food shortages, has been a mainstay of Pennsylvania Avenue since 1878.

‘Andor’ and ‘You’ are back this week, along with a new Amy Sherman-Palladino show

Andor, featuring Diego Luna's charismatic performance as a rebel operative, has come at a perfect moment.

DHL will stop shipping packages over $800 to U.S. customers due to new customs rules

The shipping company's temporary new policy comes as President Trump continues to upend U.S. global trade policy.

A look back at Pope Francis’ life and legacy

Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Pope Francis died Monday, the day after Easter, at the age of 88. As the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, he was the first Latin American pontiff, the first non-European pope in more than a millennium, and he left behind a legacy of service, unity, and compassion.

More BirminghamWatch Coverage