Welcome to our new web site!

To give our readers a chance to experience all that our new website has to offer, we have made all content freely avaiable, through October 1, 2018.

During this time, print and digital subscribers will not need to log in to view our stories or e-editions.

Carroll County Grants Raises to Librarian, Certified Financial Officers

Posted

HUNTINGDON (April 12) — Carroll County Budget Committee voted to grant pay raises for the county librarian, two employees who will soon be certified finance officers, and part-time employees, who make less than $12 per hour. Another proposal is to grant a two-percent pay increase to the 132 full-time, and 44 part-time employees, if revenues allow when the 2019-2020 fiscal year budget is approved.
County employees have received one-time bonuses of $800 and $400 respectively over the past two years. The proposed two-percent bonus is based on their base pay, which has not increased in two years.
Of the 44 part-time associates, 30 are paid less than $12 per hour. The committee voted to set the minimum hourly pay at $12, effective July 1.
The committee voted to pay the head librarian $30,000 annually beginning July 1. Presently, the librarian makes $23,700 annually, however, she is leaving. Other applicants were not interested in filling the position at less than $30,000. Mayor Joseph Butler said the county is the second lowest in pay of similar size libraries.

Darrell Ridgely questioned how many use the library. Butler said he is amazed at the number of people who use the library, because of the limited availability of internet in the rural areas and the lack of computer knowledge by persons who come to the library for that assistance.
Kelsey Schweitzer, a representative the Tennessee County Services Association, said the library has a mandated maintenance of effort, requiring the county to continue funding at the same or greater level each year. Otherwise, the state can remove its resources. The county’s expenditures are mostly for salaries with the state providing most of the resources.
Manuel Crossno asked the county to restore the annual funding to the Gordon Browning Genealogy Museum to equal $5,000. A few years ago, it was reduced to $4,000.
Stacey McCaleb and Jenny Gordon were granted annual raises of $5,000 each. Those raises are effective upon the successful completion of the Certified County Financial Officer certification. McCaleb works in the mayor’s office and Gordon works at the Carroll County Highway Department. Presently, the certification is not mandated, however, it is expected to be required in the future for each county. The state is also expected to mandate a county office of centralized accounting.
Before adjourning, Ridgely questioned how the county is proceeding on the situation with the Carroll County 1000-Acre Recreation Lake. The ongoing $10 per vehicle wheel tax was passed in the year 2000 and implemented in 2002 to fund 30 percent of the development of the lake.

Library, Carroll County, Financial