Member Lisa Calvert explains that the proposal aims to make county employee salaries competitive with those in neighboring counties. The Board is also stressing the importance of paying a good wage to the employees that deal with life and death situations, such as dispatchers and law enforcement.

Additionally, Calvert brought up the fact that the Supervisors, who work for several hours a week inside of the Courthouse, are given health insurance benefits like full-time employees.

Board of Supervisors Chairman Tom Rutledge responded to Calvert’s comment about employee benefits for the Supervisors. “They were using current full-time wages compared to if you consider a Supervisor a part-time position. She asked about how many hours each of us put in a week, if we keep track of that. What they tried to do is compare a Supervisor’s salary and the option for full-time benefits with full-time wages and benefits. It was a little bit confusing of a conversation.”

The Board of Supervisors have taken no action on employee salaries for the upcoming fiscal year.