While the now adopted budget for 2020 includes raises for all Baxter County employees, the quorum court spent about 45 minutes Tuesday night discussing why the bump was not higher for 21 people.
Listen:
As noted in earlier reports, the county entered the budget process knowing three significant issues would have to be addressed in the budget–increases in the voter mandated raise in the minimum wage, federal adjustments to the Fair Labor Standards Act and soaring health insurance costs.
Those issues forced the court’s hand in November, leading to the justices raising the taxing rate for personal and real property by 2 mills. It was the first change in the county’s millage rate since 1990 when the county sales tax was implemented. With the sales tax passage 29 years ago, the county general millage was rolled back from 1.8 mills.
While the court has been chipping away at stagnated salaries for the past six years, a commissioned study comparing the county’s positions to the average market rate brought questions primarily from justices Ty Chapman, Cameron Davis and Kevin Litty supporting an even larger increase in 21 positions.
To bring the 21 employees up to the level outlined in the wage study would require spending an additional $64,000 in 2020.
With the proposed budget setting at 90% of the anticipated revenue, the maximum allowed under state law, implementing the additional $64,000 would require an equal amount of cuts.
Through the discussion, the justices heard from Judge Mickey Pendergrass who pointed out more than $64,000 had already been cut in order to balance the budget.
Treasurer Jenay Mize reminded them every monthly budget until October this year had been in the red. This year’s disbursements were higher than the county’s income, a point Mize said she has been making since she took office.
Mize noted the salary increases built into the budget is a bump of about $225,000. She described the sales tax as the county’s “bread and butter,” noting if there was a downturn, it could mean cutting employees instead of giving raises.
There was also a discussion about the timing of available funding.
While the increased 2 mills are projected to generate $1.1 million annually, Collector Teresa Smith noted the tax payment books don’t open until March 1, with the bulk of payments not made until near the October deadline.
Judge Pendergrass noted if the increase in the cost of insurance had not been negotiated from a 42% increase down to 20.6%, there would not have been any raises. The increase came despite a doubling of the plan’s deductible. Health insurance is now an annual expense reaching more than $1 million.
In the end the proposal covering $8.4 million in county general expenditures combined with restricted funding for
a total budget of just over $17 million passed unanimously, with justice Luci Soltysik absent.
While the budget passed without further action on the 21 positions, the justices agreed to revisit the topic after the first quarter of 2020 and a review of the county’s income at that point.
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI