Friday, December 20, 2002
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Friday, December 20, 2002 |
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Budget features pay raises By JOHN
THOMPSON Coweta County's proposed budget will now feature an additional pay raise for some of the county's lower-paid employees. The County Commission decided Tuesday in a budget public hearing session to give a 3.5-percent raise to employees making under $32,000. Commissioner Vernon "Mutt" Hunter suggested the increase to try and lower the pay gap for some of the county's employees. The $33.7 million general fund budget includes a 2.5-percent cost-of-living adjustment for the rest of the county employees, along with the state-mandated cost-of-living increases for constitutional officers. The commission also restored more than $13,000 in funding to the Newnan-Coweta Library. The county always matches the funds that the city of Newnan provides. Earlier in the week, the Newnan City Council had approved more than $303,000 for the library, so the county matched the funds. Newnan-Coweta Library Board member Joe Powell said the money was necessary to bump up the pay at the library. "We've got one employee who's worked there for four years and is just making $18,000," he said. Finance director Rick Smoot also suggested that capital equipment be purchased from the county's reserve fund. He recommended transferring $1.5 million from the general fund balance at the end of the year to buy the equipment, such as a new pumper and tanker for the fire department. Also included in this year's budget is $10,000 each for the Senoia and Grantville libraries. The final budget is expected to be approved at the Jan. 7 meeting.
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