McCracken Commissioner says raises coming for county employees

In a statement, McCracken County Commissioner Bill Bartleman said that a compromise is being finalized to get county employees “meaningful salary increases.”

Bartleman said that the Fiscal Court had been discussing raises above the cost-of-living adjustments, but had not reached an agreement. Proposals of 8 percent and 5 percent had been put forth. The potential compromise centers on 6.5 percent over the cost-of-living, for a total of 9.2 percent. The increases would be for county employees except for McCracken County Sheriff’s deputies, who already received an increase of 12 percent total.

Bartleman indicated that the compromise was discussed at a budget workshop on Friday. In addition to the salary increases, the court wants to reduce the insurance premium tax by an equal amount, 9.2 percent, while not tapping into cash reserves to balance the budget. The cash reserves are only to be used for potential one-time expenditures like grants, economic development incentives, and improvements to parks.

Bartleman felt strongly enough about the movement on the issue to release the statement, so West Kentucky Star spoke with Judge-Executive Craig Clymer, Commissioner Richard Abraham, and Commissioner Eddie Jones to gauge their feelings on the matter. Clymer, for his part, believes this is a measure that will pass, while Commissioner Abraham is comfortable with the compromise and wants to reach an agreement on the issue in an effort to take care of those who make the county function. Jones said that given preliminary numbers, tying the salary increase to the tax decrease seemed to be both “doable and reasonable.”

The four could potentially take up the tabled measure at the next scheduled meeting on April 28th.