MORGANTOWN — The Monongalia County Commission on Wednesday approved raises for county employees and one-time supplemental pay for employees of the Monongalia County Health Department.
County employees will receive a 3% raise or a minimum of $1,500 for full-time employees and $1,000 for part-time employees, whichever is larger.
The increase is for employees hired prior to July 1, and is effective as of Dec. 1.
Commissioner Sean Sikora explained that the uncertainty of COVID-19’s impacts on the county budget caused the commission to hold off on raises during the spring budgeting process.
Sikora said the county’s revenue is running ahead of projections while expenses are below the average of the past seven years.
The overall impact the on county’s 2021 budget will be about $250,000.
“We have really dedicated people who work in the county,” Commission President Ed Hawkins said. “People don’t really realize, unless you’re here, how hard the employees of the county work for everybody in Monongalia County … It’s well deserved.”
The commission also approved $100,000 to be distributed as one-time supplemental pay to employees of the Monongalia County Health Department.
Full-time employees will receive $1,500.
Health department employees are state employees, meaning the one-time payment will not only need to be approved the Monongalia County Board of Health, but also by the state department of personnel.
Sikora said there are health department employees who have worked well over 200 days with little to no time off since the rise of COVID-19, in March.
“I think it was important when we were talking about increases that we recognized our sisters and brothers who work for the health department and the work that they’re doing during this pandemic,” he said. “I’m glad that we can do this and that all the commissioners agreed we should do this.”
Also on Wednesday, the commission approved a settlement through which it will pay $182,750 to the Monongalia County Development Authority.
The settlement dates back to a 2016 lawsuit filed against the MCDA and its former executive director, Holly Childs, by SouthCo Development LLC pertaining to the removal of coal beneath a portion of the planned I-68 commerce park development near the Morgantown Municipal Airport.
The MCDA then sued the commission in 2018, stating it was led to believe it was covered by the county’s former insurance provider, P.M. Long & Son, which denied the claim.
The amount to be paid by the commission to the MCHD mirrors the settlement being paid by the MCHD and engineering firm Larson Design Group to SouthCo.
Lastly, the commission certified the statewide and national races from the Nov. 3 general election.
County Clerk Carye Blaney explained that statewide and national races could not be certified until all counties in the state completed canvassing, which was accomplished on Nov. 23.
Monongalia County’s canvassing process was completed on Nov. 9. Local races were certified during the commission’s Nov. 18 meeting.
