KINGWOOD — There’s a hitch in the Preston County Commissions plan to give county employees a pay raise retroactive to July 1 — previously worked overtime.
The commission unanimously voted in favor of allocating $249,412.49 from the budget towards pay raises for county employees, including employees for officer holders and the sheriff’s office at a special meeting on Oct. 7.
“At the time, it was the commission’s desire to make this retroactive. However, in a discussion with (County Clerk Linda Huggins), and I can only say that it was a point we missed or that we need to reconsider, is that if you make this retroactive, then that goes back and impacts salaries July forward,” County Administrator Kathy Mace said at Tuesday’s regular meeting.
Which would mean the overtime that has been paid in July, August, September and October would increase, Mace said.
Huggins said she hasn’t calculated how much it would cost. To do so, she would need to know what each individual’s new wage would be, which has not yet been determined by the various office holders. Then she would need to determine which people worked overtime, how many hours and figure out the difference between their old and new overtime rate.
However, she said, “it would be a lot more money than what you were considering.”
The final price of the pay raise, after accounting for one employee’s position being listed wrong and rounding, is about $253,000, Mace said. That would leave about $16,000 in the county’s budget above the commission’s floor of 5% contingency.
One idea was instead of making the pay retroactive, giving a lump sum or bonus for that period.
Commissioner Dave Price said the State Auditor’s Office has said they can’t do lump sums. Huggins said she would look into it.
Mace brought up the idea of paying a 12-month salary in an eight-month period to give the overall salary the commission wants employees to have this fiscal year. That increased pay would then be reduced in July with the overall salary remaining the same — just spread over 12 months.
Huggins said she would check with Wage and Hour — a division of the U.S. Department of Labor. She did and shared her findings at a work session following the commission meeting.
“They suggested paying what they’re owed in one lump sum, because you, she said, you do workman’s comp, and you have all these other recordings that you have to do, and then have to explain. So, when July comes our employees are gonna have a reduction of pay, you’ve got to them give notice about reduction in pay. And she was just sharing with me she didn’t feel that was the best option. She didn’t say it was against the law or anything.”
Overtime hours would be added up and employees would be paid what they’re owed. Huggins said she will get the basic figures she can such as the total overtime worked in that period.
Ultimately, no action was taken in regards to a budget revision for the pay raises.
Commission President Don Smith said he didn’t want to get into a situation where they wait too long and the raises don’t happen in November.
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