Trent Riddle, Barren County magistrate for the second magisterial district, inspects a document during a fiscal court meeting on Jan. 6, 2020. Riddle reasoned at last week’s court meeting that some employees’ overtime hours should be discussed before incentivized pay is distributed for those hours worked during the COVID-19 pandemic.
(BRENNAN CRAIN/WCLU NEWS)
By Angela Briggs, special to WCLU News
GLASGOW, Ky. — The Barren County fiscal court met in a more than three-hour marathon meeting last week, and the court is slated to meet again Tuesday.
Among discussions was premium pay for the county government’s employees, which was a consuming topic at an earlier court meeting. Magistrates were under the impression a plan to spend American Rescue Act funding was impacted by an Oct. 31 deadline. But the deadline to submit a plan was not actual.
“We can bring it back up because we’ve got till April to get this done,” said Magistrate Carl Dickerson.
The court’s plan included a $5 payment incentive for every hour worked through the pandemic. Sick leave and vacation time was not included in that plan. Those working remotely were also not considered for the incentive pay. Magistrates learned the time worked was compiled from timecards.
Feeling the time crunch, magistrates approved premium pay for county employees at a prior meeting. But that approval did not guarantee a pay incentive.
After the approval, excitement spread among county employees. However, the payments were not approved and finalized with that former vote. It was solely to approve a spending plan.
Some magistrates said last week the vote happened too fast at that prior meeting. Others were concerned why an email was missed regarding the ARA spending plan deadline’s extension. And some questioned the exact hours worked by some employees and who should qualify for those pay bonuses.
“We’ve got some on there that’s got pretty high numbers,” said Magistrate Trent Riddle. “It’s hard for me to digest why.”
Riddle referred to a document provided to magistrates that detailed hours worked by several employees. Of those, several reported more than the standard 40 hours in some work weeks.
“Some of our salaried employees turned in more than 40 hours a week. Some of them turned in 60 hours,” Riddle said. “I’d like to find out what the difference is.”
Riddle questioned whether those overtime hours should be incentivized.
Jenny Hoffman, Barren County treasurer, said salaried employees are contracted to work 40 hours each week, and any overtime is also reported. However, those employees are not paid for additional time worked over their allotted 40 hours.
Stretching over nearly 50 minutes, the discussion led to a request for the motion to be restated and clarified. And in the end, magistrates decided they want to give employees some sort of bonus but nothing near the $25,000 cap allowed by ARA guidelines.
Bonus amounts could be decided as early as Monday. An Administrative and Budget Committee meeting is slated Monday at 3 p.m., one day before the court could vote on the matter. Discussion of the ARA funding is included on both agendas.
ARA funding is not limited to premium pay bonuses. The funding’s laxity could provide funding for non-profits, grants to small businesses and infrastructure improvements.
