No move on pay hike

Jay County Council will make a decision tonight on whether or not county employees receive a cost of living raise in 2011.
Council members discussed salaries after finishing up the first half of budget review for the evening on Tuesday.
Council president Gerald Kirby wanted to delay the decision until the Aug. 25 meeting, but since the first reading of the budget is that night and the council will not meet again after today’s 6 p.m. meeting, the decision will have to be made by the end of the night.
The conversation was precipitated by commissioner Milo Miller Jr., who was in the audience, asking about what the council planned to do with salaries.
“I think you’ve got to be looking at a raise,” Miller said.
“I would love to give raises, but I just can’t see it,” said Marilyn Coleman, who has expressed concerns in past meetings that granting raises would leave the council without adequate cash reserves for operation in 2011.
Council member Gary Theurer, however, felt that if the council cut back on the money it has been putting in its savings — the rainy day fund — that some increase could be sustained.
“To me, we’re OK,” he said. “We’re doing OK.
“I don’t see this drastic thing that we’re going to be broke in three years,” he said referencing a sustainability report prepared by the county’s financial consultant Greg Guerrettaz that showed the county would be operating with negative cash balances in the near future.
The council stashes away money each year into its rainy day fund, which has a current balance of $2,415,123.64.
“If we don’t put it all down there, we’re doing OK,” Theurer said.
The total salary cost for employees paid out of the general fund — including insurance, social security and other wage-related expenses — is $4,221,630.03.
The council expects to have cash reserves of $800,000 this year if it granted no salary increases. With a 1 percent raise those reserves would drop to $772,873, $718,618 with a 2 percent raise and $637,236 with a 3 percent raise.
Coleman acknowledged that the council could pull money away from its savings to allow it to grant raises and keep the general fund’s reserves up.
“We can give raises,” she said. “We just really have to watch what we’re doing.”
Councilman Mike Leonhard chimed in, supporting granting some sort of aid in raises or other support.
“We have to do something for our employees,” he said.
Kirby advised the council members to think about the salary issue overnight and be ready to decide at today’s meeting.
“Give it some thought and we’ll discuss it again,” he said. “I would love to give a raise too but you’ve got to have the funds.”
In other business Tuesday, the council completed the first half of departmental budget reviews, going through 24 different budgets.
Nearly all of the budgets remained the same or decreased, except for the county commissioners’ budget, which saw an increase of about $30,000 from last year.
Although cuts were made to the commissioners’ budget, they were overshadowed by budgeted increases in employee retirement expenses, insurance, and computer maintenance costs, which includes an upgrade that will take place next year to digitize the county treasurer’s office.
Monies paid to local groups and organizations such as Arts Place, John Jay Center for Learning, and the Jay County Chamber of Commerce, which was a topic of discussion earlier in the year, were trimmed but not eliminated.
“We could just cut those all completely out, but I don’t think that would be a good idea,” Miller said of those contributions.
Council members were appreciative of the efforts that all departments made to cut back their budgets and the council doesn’t anticipate needing to make further cuts.
“We don’t really need to cut anything from the budget,” Coleman said.
“Not that I see,” agreed Jay County Auditor Nancy Culy.[[In-content Ad]]