JeffCo Employees Getting 3% Raises In Budget Passed Thursday
Jefferson County commissioners Lashunda Scales and Joe Knight go over 2022 budget during a meeting in September 2021.
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.”
Here’s what we know about the 2 Israeli embassy staffers killed in Washington, D.C.
Two staff members of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. were killed in a shooting after attending an event a Jewish museum. A suspect shouted "free Palestine" before being taken into custody.
Community groups say Louisiana is trying to stop them from monitoring air pollution
For community groups to allege violations of environmental rules, a state law says groups have to use federally-approved testing equipment, and it sets restrictions for analyzing and sharing the data.
Democrats seek to insulate security for judges from executive branch politics
Recent critiques of judges from the Trump administration have prompted fears the Marshals could be caught in the middle of a power struggle and forced to yank security for judges.
Dear Life Kit: My neighbor’s Christmas lights are still up. Should I call the HOA?
An NPR listener writes: "We live in a nice neighborhood that has homeowner association rules, and our neighbor is violating them." Social etiquette experts weigh in.
Jim Irsay, longtime Colts owner and music memorabilia collector, dies at 65
Irsay started with the Colts as a teenage ball boy and took ownership after his father's death in 1997. The team won a Super Bowl and two AFC championships under his nearly three-decade tenure.
No more pennies: In big change, Treasury will stop minting them
In a cost-cutting move, the Treasury Department will soon stop minting new pennies. The one-cent coins will still be legal tender. There are more than 100 billion pennies in circulation but many are gathering dust in change jars and forgotten pockets.
