News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Jackson County Commissioners added longevity pay for county employees in their new fiscal year budget, a first for the county.
Mayor Randy Heady said that the addition has been in the works for some time. Heady said he wanted Jackon to compete with other counties’ employee pay, and to show an appreciation for long-serving employees. He said the increase would apply to both employees with certifications from outside the county, like deputies and emergency responders, as well as clerical employees.
“You’re going to get an increase in your wages based on how long you’ve been either with Jackson County or a certified person,” Heady said. “So to be a deputy, you had to go to training and you have to have ongoing training to have your certificate.”
Heady said other certified employees include paramedics and advanced EMTs. He said that the longevity pay will include county employees that fall under the general fund and solid waste fund. He said Jackson County Schools have their own system of longevity pay.
Heady said that the longevity pay increases the budget by about a quarter of a million dollars. Heady said that this year’s fiscal budget sits at $7,953,000. He said this is one of the biggest budgets Jackson County has ever had.
He said that the county saw some $40,000 from occupancy taxes this past year.
“We finally this year got a full amount, saw how much we could get,” Heady said. “We were kind of excited about what we got from that revenue, it was over $40,000 for this year. Now that doesn’t come close to other counties, but it exceeded our expectations.”
Heady said that the increase in revenue also allowed for the county to increase its contribution to the local chamber, which was able to hire a full-time chamber director in Hope Vargas. Heady said that they also certified their tax rate at $2.287. He said this was a 55 cent decrease from before property appraisals this year.
Heady said that with the process around four years in the making, and discussions finally happening for the past three months, he believes the longevity pay gives back to the employees who have served extended periods of time with the county.
