Over 2,000 public employees in Cobb County could have to wait a little longer to know if they will receive a proposed pay raise amidst reports the board of commissioners is tabling the raise.
Although the board has set aside a $10 million fund for potential pay raises in the local government, many commissioners believe the proposal should be voted on by next year’s board, the Marietta Daily Journal reports.
“If we’re waiting until April to put it in play, and we can wait until the new administration’s in place to vote on it, I think that’s something we need to do,” said Chairman Tim Lee, who will be replaced by Chairman-elect Mike Boyce next year.
The prospect of a pay raise for some Cobb County employees came about in April, when the county commissioned the Archer Group to conduct a study on the effects of an increase wages. After studying pay rates in other governments across metro Atlanta and the southeast, the group determined a pay raise would be appropriate.
The Archer Group proposed a variety of plans, but the county settled on an option that would give 45 percent of the government’s 4,800 employees, some 2,200 workers, a raise beginning in April of 2017.
The plan is expected to cost the county $7 million in the 2017 fiscal year, which officially began Oct. 1.
In addition to allowing for continuity with the next board of commissioners, the decision to put off voting on the raise was based on questions over how the raise would be paid for down the road. According to commissioner Bob Ott, it is still unknown how much the raise will cost going into 2018 and beyond.
The board is looking into a variety of measures to fund the proposal, including a potential increase in the county’s millage rate, which affects how much residents pay in property tax.