Dougherty County leaders plan for employee pay raises

ALBANY — As Dougherty County commissioners prepared for their annual retreat at the Veterans State Park resort in Crisp County, one thing was on their minds: pay raises for their employees.

With a pay inequity that has many county workers’ salaries well below that of their city of Albany counterparts, county leaders say the time has come to end what has amounted to a five-year pay freeze.

“It’s not ‘if’ we give our employees a pay raise, it’s ‘how’ we can do it,” District 1 Commissioner Lamar Hudgins, the longest-serving member of the board, said.

But longevity had little to do with the overriding sentiment of the entire commission. With only a month of service under his belt, District 6 Commissioner Anthony Jones said, “We’ve got to take a long look at our budget as we look for options to increase and sustain pay increases for our employees. As everyone knows, it’s money that drives this train.”

County Administrator Richard Crowdis has been working with County Finance Director Martha Hendley and the commission’s Finance Committee to come up with options for commissioners to consider as they start work on the county’s Fiscal Year 2016 budget. Those options, according to Crowdis, point to an employee pay increase.

“We’ve tightened our belts over the last several years to the point that we’ve got all the low-hanging fruit (in cuts),” Crowdis said. “In doing so, we’ve fallen behind even some smaller surrounding counties in our employees’ salaries. We’ve had others come in and cherry-pick some of our top employees. We’ve got to take care of our people; they’re our most valuable asset.”

Commissioners gathered at Veterans Park Feb. 5 for their annual retreat to talk about those employee pay raises and other key issues that will be on their agenda during 2015. And while salaries were the main topic of conversation, the board discussed other vital issues during the daylong, relationship-building gathering.

The commissioners and county administrator talked about their primary concerns before the retreat.

LAMAR HUDGINS, District 1: “The biggest item — my No. 1 and the commission’s as well last year — is employee pay raises. We haven’t had the opportunity to do that in a while without increasing the millage rate, and it’s important that we find a way to make this happen without increasing the burden on our taxpayers.

“When Richard (Crowdis) came here, one of the caveats was that we have a retreat every year. It’s always helpful for us all to be in the room, to get to know each other. That’s how you come up with workable answers to important questions like (the pay raises).”

JOHN HAYES, District 2: “Probably one of the more critical things we’ve got to do this year is find a path to improve compensation for our rank and file. We’ve got to find a way to grow our digest, to improve our income stream so that we can give our taxpayers relief. I’ve always opposed increasing the millage rate, so we’ve got to be sensitive to that. We have to find a balance.

“I think we have to be a more aggressive government. Yes, we have to focus on roads and bridges, but we can’t just remain stuck there. We’ve got to truly be the hub of Southwest Georgia, and one of the ways we can do that as a body is to re-engage with efforts to revitalize downtown. We have to help create a community that people want to come to.”

CLINTON JOHNSON, District 3: “I think the No. 1 thing on everyone’s agenda is always economic development. We need to work toward developing the kind of infrastructure businesses and industries are looking for. One of the best ways to move our community forward is to find a way for our employees to earn the best, livable wages they can. It’s going to take all of us working together on this, because nobody wants to increase taxes.

“As we work to set our agenda for the year, we’ve got to focus on important economic items like bringing the latest technology to the city and county. We’ve got to find ways to best utilize the money we put into training our employees.”

EWELL LYLE, District 4: “Everyone points out that education is not the purview of the county or the city, but we have to all work to help improve our school system. It’s critical that we move our education forward, if only for economic development reasons. If we don’t, we’ll be left behind.

“I have no problem with a cost-of-living adjustment or pay increase for our employees, but there are ways we can do that without raising taxes. The first reaction of a lot of people when such a need exists is, ‘We have to raise taxes.’ But there are things we can do to generate funds. We have to do this and do it the right way. Right now, we’re falling behind, way behind.”

HARRY JAMES, District 5: “I believe this job (as commissioner) is about listening to and working on things that concern our citizens and our employees. We’re dealing with things like lowering fire insurance rates right now, and I think another priority that has come up is pay increases for our employees. We have to address that issue.

“I’m planning to bring our department heads to listening sessions in my district so that our citizens can take their concerns directly to the people who address them. Things like local preferences and keeping small businesses engaged are important to our community. We have to look at things that have been keeping our small businesses out of the loop.”

ANTHONY JONES, District 6: “The No. 1 issue we face now is finding options for increasing and sustaining pay increases for our employees. There is a solid group of decision-makers at the table, though, and I think we’re all going to work together to find an answer to that question. Our employees need to know that we’ve heard them and we’re working on their behalf.

“We always say that we’re excited about the new year, but that is not just conversation. We are going to set goals and priorities that will allow us to tackle the issues important to our community.”

CHRIS COHILAS, chairman: “A lot of what we plan to do is, obviously, working towards a reasonable method to address the pay freeze county employees have been under for some time. We have very dedicated employees who haven’t had a pay raise in a long time. I think that’s part of an overall economic picture that we have to look closely at to cultivate an environment that will interest potential and existing business and industry.

“I think it’s imperative that we work together and take opportunities like (the retreat) to cultivate a better understanding among commissioners so we can form a global perspective on what’s important to Dougherty County and its citizens.”

RICHARD CROWDIS, county administrator: “We’ll have an agenda that’s pretty basic at our retreat, but that’s there to help develop a consensus on things we need to pursue over the coming year. Of course, raising our employees’ pay is the No. 1 goal we have by far. It’s such an important issue, it dwarfs everything else.

“I plan to recommend that we raise employees’ pay, and it will be our collective job to find the best way to do that. Our folks haven’t had a (pay) increase in five years, and that hurts with employee morale and retention. We’ve lost a lot of good employees, and I plan to offer options that will help us increase their pay. That’s something I feel we have to do.”