State-Journal.com - County employees could get 2.5% raise

County government employees will probably get a 2 percent pay raise in 2009.

County Clerk Guy Zeigler and Sheriff Steve Clark recommended a 3 percent increase for their employees in a Franklin County Fiscal Court budget work session Thursday.

But after an hour-and-15-minute discussion Judge-Executive Ted Collins got a majority of the court to agree to a 2 percent increase.

Magistrates Phillip Kring and Jill Robinson said they'd support 3 percent " but the four votes needed weren't there.

The sheriff and county clerk's offices operate on a calendar year and other offices work on a fiscal year, which will end June 30, 2009.

Fiscal Court will vote on Clark and Zeigler's budgets at the Dec. 29 meeting.

Frankfort Plant Board employees received a 4 percent pay raise earlier this year. City employees received a 3 percent increment and state employees 1 percent. Local legislators say the 1 percent increase for state employees will be eliminated if a proposed three-day furlough is implemented.

Last December Fiscal Court approved 3.5 percent raises for the sheriff and county clerk's offices in 2008, then later increased those employees' salaries to 4 percent when the fiscal year budget was approved with a 4 percent across-the-board raise for other county employees.

After the budget meeting, Collins said he expects the 2 percent to stay the same when the 2009-10 fiscal year budget is prepared in April.

In Thursday's budget meeting, Magistrate Ira Fannin, who favored no more than 2 percent, said, "We have an economy that we don't know where it's going. I think we're about as sound as anybody around but I think we need to be conservative."

Fannin said if the economy gets worse he doesn't want Fiscal Court to have to lay off employees next year.

Magistrate Don Sturgeon said he hears from TV reports that "for the next year to a year-and-a-half, things are going to get worse."

He asked Clark and Zeigler if they thought their employees would rather have 3 percent increases and end up having to take furloughs or get a 1 or 2 percent raise and work every day.

Clark and Zeigler both said they thought their employees would choose 3 percent.

Zeigler said part of the reason the economy has stalled is a mental thing.

"There are some serious problems but some of it is our mentality," he said. "I was due to buy a new car this year but I'm holding off on that because I'm not sure what's going to happen."

In the sheriff's new budget, expenses total $1.73 million compared to $1.68 million last year.

Clark's salary will be $88,948. He has budgeted $567,025 for 15 deputies, $73,450 for two school resource officers, and $89,717 for part-time court security and $45,257 for overtime.

The budget also includes $52,000 for two new police cars and equipment, $75,000 for gasoline and $40,000 for vehicle maintenance and repairs.

Clark had initially hoped for three new cars " the same as last year " but after discussing the budget with Collins before Thursday's meeting he agreed to request only two. At the work session Collins asked him if he could get by with only one new car.

Clark said two cars now have 94,000 and 86,000 miles, and if those aren't replaced, he felt his office would have to spend a great deal more for vehicle repairs.

Hazardous-duty retirement is another major expense, $276,509.

The new budget is expected to generate $76,845 in excess fees for Fiscal Court's use.

The county clerk's new budget shows a total income of $1,295,950 and expenses totaling $1,182,828.

Zeigler's salary will be $101,500 and salaries for 14 deputies will total $503,578.

With no elections scheduled for 2009, the election officers' expense will go from $50,000 in 2008 to zero in the new budget.

Record preservation " to continue "back imaging of land records" for security and the ease of retrieving documents " has been trimmed from $160,000 in 2008 to $140,000 in the new budget. And when asked about trimming it even more in 2009, Zeigler said he thought he could do that.

Zeigler said by presenting his budget first to Fiscal Court in budget meetings, he felt he was representing not just his office employees but all county government employees, and he wanted to get as large a pay increase as possible for them.

In Thursday's regular meeting, Fiscal Court:
>Approved rezoning 109 acres at 267 Strohmeier Road from Rural Residential to Agricultural. Six court members voted for the change. Fannin didn't vote because he owns property adjacent to the 109-acre site.

David Strohmeier plans to expand Stillwater Campground to allow more campsites. The campground is just west of U.S. 127 along Elkhorn Creek and its junction to the Kentucky River, 8.5 miles north of Frankfort.

The Frankfort/Franklin County Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval of the rezoning in October. No one spoke against it at the planning commission public hearing.

>Gave the first reading to ordinances increasing the compensation of Frankfort/Franklin County Planning Commission members from $50 to $75 a month; and Board of Adjustment members from $25 to $50 per meeting.