Supervisor wants raises reconsidered

From staff reports
Published: November 7, 2008

One local official is tired of the county covering for state budget shortfalls.

Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine recently cut a previously promised two percent salary increase for county employees whose salaries are partly paid for by the state.

Madison County’s current budget includes these previously expected Dec. 1 salary raises, however the governor’s change means the state will no longer reimburse the county to cover the increases.

In order for local officials to follow through with the promised salaries, the county would need to spend about $27,000, County Administrator Lisa Kelley told the board of supervisors at its regularly scheduled Oct. 30 workshop meeting.

But one supervisor – Vice Chairman James Arrington – is insisting the county put its foot down.

“I disagree with the county picking up the state’s share,” Arrington said at the meeting. “It’s just got to stop somewhere.”

Arrington suggested the county alter its budget to no longer include two percent salary increases for those partly state-funded employees.
“Employees have got to understand the economic times we’re living in,” he said. 

But this wouldn’t eliminate salary increases for all employees, just certain state-mandated positions, Supervisors Chairman Eddie Dean said.
“Which means we would be treating our constitutional officers differently from other county employees,” Dean said.

State-mandated local employees would see their wages decrease, while other county employees would not, according to the supervisors chairman.

The bulk of the $27,000 refers to Madison County Sheriff’s Office employees whose salaries are partially funded by the state, Kelley said. The rest of the money would cover two percent salary increases for employees in the offices of the circuit court clerk, the commonwealth’s attorney, the treasurer and the commissioner of revenue, according to the county administrator.

Kelley noted that for years the county has been spending local money to “supplement” the amount the state reimburses for the salaries of state-mandated local positions.   

“As a practical matter, you probably couldn’t get people to work for what the [state] compensation board pays,” she said.
Officials say the previously promised raises could be covered using currently budgeted funds.

“We’re not anticipating that we will have to move money from the contingency fund,” the county administrator told The Eagle after the October workshop meeting.

While there may not be enough extra money within all of the specific departments’ budgets to cover the raises, some departments may have funds available to pay for the raises of its own employees as well as other department’s employees, she said.

“Some departments have a better ability than others to shift money around,” Kelley said.

In addition, employees may retire or quit throughout the year leaving positions open for certain periods of time, freeing up funds, she said.
“Most of it, if not all, we will be able to cover in the departments’ budgets,” Kelley told the board.

Arrington requested that the supervisors take a public vote regarding this issue at a later meeting.

“The public needs to understand what we’re about to do here,” he said.

The board only needs to vote on this issue if they want to amend the budget to exclude the raises, Kelley said.