Quorum Court approves raises

EL DORADO — Union County employees will have fatter paychecks, thanks to the Quorum Court.

The justices approved a 5 percent pay raise for all full-time employees in good standing during Thursday’s meeting at the Union County Courthouse.

“It is very necessary that we do this,” said JP Carolyn Jones. “We didn’t give a raise last year, and our employees have had costof-living expenses increase just like everyone else.”

Sheriff Mike McGough thanked the court for the pay hike.

“This will help stabilize things with the officers and the jail,” McGough said. “It is getting harder to compete and keep the certified personnel we need. This will help make us more competitive.”

“We have to be competitive,” Jones said. “We want to keep our employees, we are faithful and hard workers in all of our departments. They have earned it, deserve it, and we have to do it.”

The JPs voted to exclude themselves from the pay raise.

“We don’t need to be giving ourselves a raise,” said JP Tim Foster.

County Judge Mike Loftin noted that county employees have been getting raises about every three years.

The JPs also approved an ordinance approving a payroll bonus for county employees. The one-time bonus will pay employees who have worked for the county two years or less $200; two to five years’ of employment will result in a $500 bonus; $750 bonus for five- to 10-year employees; and $1,000 for employees

with more than 10 years of service.

The county also approved the 2017 budget, which includes total appropriations of $22,288,351.71.

Two areas of contention between the city and the county include the county jail expenses and the county’s support of the recreation complex — an expense that is shared with the city.

JP Johnny Burson made a motion that the county dissolve the agreement with the city to fund the recreation complex and put a cap on what the county contributes to fund the operation of the complex, which features softball and baseball fields.

“I think we need to sit down with someone from the city and the city finance committee before we decide to do that,” Loftin said.

“Why can’t they come to us and discuss it,” Foster asked. “I think that anyone who comes to us for money should tell us what they are going to spend it on.”

The cost of housing prisoners in the county jail is also still being worked out, with the county finance committee recommending a flat fee of $200,000 being charged to the city of El Dorado for jail costs.

Last year that expense was $231,000, but the county is offering the city a flat payment of $200,000 in 2017.

The City Council was set to discuss the jail costs at their Thursday meeting. The city had proposed earlier this month to pay a flat rate of $162,000.

City officials have contended that the city should not be responsible for paying for inmates, even if they were arrested by the El Dorado Police Department, after they are sentenced to the jail for misdemeanor offenses.

“At $200,000, that is about $11 per capita,” said Chairman Mike Dumas, which means every resident of El Dorado would be paying roughly $11 a year toward housing criminals.

“If we spent $231,000 last year, why would thecity expect to pay less?” asked JP Dean Storey. “It’s only reasonable that costs would go up.”