The Franklin County Commission approved a $18.43 million budget for the new fiscal year that includes raises for all employees except those in the Franklin County Solid Waste Department.
At a special called meeting held Monday morning, commissioners approved the FY2024-25 budget divided into three segments: General fund $10,492,821.98, Highway Department $4,893,339.10 and Solid Waste Department $3,045,766.71. (The Franklin County Sheriff's Office is funded through the general fund budget).
Beginning October 1, 2024, all General Fund and Highway Department employees receive a $.50/hour base pay raise. Additionally, commissioners adopted pay scale adjustments recommended by the recent pay study conducted by the University of North Alabama.
According to Franklin County Administrator Leah Mansell, that study showed the majority of employee salaries to be consistent with nearby municipalities and counties of similar population as Franklin County.
“They compared us to surrounding municipalities and counties our size and made recommendations off that information,” Mansell said. “There were just a handful that were out of range and those are adjusted (upward) in this new budget.”
The new budget includes a 4.75% increase in health insurance premiums that will be absorbed by the county and not passed on to employees. And county employees who retire with at least 10 years of service with Franklin County will now receive $600 per month reimbursement for single coverage health insurance for a three-year period. Previously, that benefit only applied to employees retiring with at least 15 years' service.
Family coverage for county employees increased to approximately $1,100 per month, with employees paying $313 and the county paying the balance, Mansell said.
The shortfall between the new FY24-25 expenditures compared to revenues will be made up from transfers from the Capital Improvement Fund, Public Building Fund, Public Highway and Traffic Fund and the approximately $1.5 million general fund balance carried over from the current fiscal year.
The reason Solid Waste Department employees did not receive the $.50 per hour raise is because the department's budget remains unsettled as a result of increased solid waste hauling fees in the new fiscal year combined with no corresponding increase in garbage fee rates charged to customers.
Last month, the Franklin County Commission approved a one year contract with Republic Morris Farm to continue the transport and disposal of household waste collected at the Franklin County Landfill Transfer Station. The new contract begins October 1, 2024, with a per ton cost of $53.60, compared to a $30.48 per ton rate in the expiring contract.
But commissioners voted to table consideration of any increased fee schedule for residential and/or commercial garbage collection, as well as any proposed increases in the per ton cost of construction and demolition debris transported to the landfill by county residents.
Franklin County Solid Waste Manager Gene Ward asked commissioners to approve increasing residential monthly garbage fees to $25, $15 for an extra can and a $5 late fee. He also requested increases on all dumpster fees as well as the per ton cost of debris transported by residents to the landfill from $25/ton to $35/ton.
But the commission voted 4-0 to table any consideration of fee increases until November 2024. The significance of that date is that the new Franklin County Commission will take office in advance of the November commission meeting.
New commissioners Tracie Clark and Greg Hovater will join incumbent Joseph Baldwin and the winner of the District One general election between Republican Michael Murray and Democrat Charles Mitchell on the new look county commission.
The outgoing commissioners believe any decision on rate increases should be made by the new commission, resulting in the vote to table the issue until November. That decision drew the ire of new commissioners though, as Hovater explained to the FFP last month.
“It's really a disservice to the county because they voted to accept a new contract then allowed the county to lose money for however long it takes for us to get into office. And there is a risk the landfill would have to close down as a result. It puts the county in a difficult situation,” Hovater said.
Mansell explained that the county's budget must be approved for the entire new fiscal year, so it had to be made based on the new hauling price without any increase in fees.
When the new commission approves rate increases to offset the increased cost of hauling municipal solid waste, any raises for Solid Waste Department employees can be approved at that time, but not retroactively.
“We can't pay any raises retroactively so they would be from the point forward when they are approved,” Mansell said.
The earliest that could be done would be the November 2024 business meeting, the new commission's organizational meeting. But even if rate increases are approved in November, they would not take effect until January 2025 to allow time to get notices out to customers and to get the new costs updated in the county's billing system, Mansell said.
Until any rate increases are approved, the county will be operating solid waste collection at a loss of approximately $23/ton based on the new contract price compared to the current rates.
In other agenda items at the September 30th meeting, the commission:
--approved naming Mansell as Franklin County Public Officer for the purpose of receiving and responding to information requests pursuant to the Alabama Open Records Act.
--approved hiring Taylor Crumpton as a temporary employee in the Highway Department and the termination of Brock Britton from the Highway Department.
--approved hiring Ella Franks as a temporary property clerk in the Franklin County Revenue Commissioner's Office.
--approved hiring Jeffrey Davis as a permanent Deputy in the Sheriff's Office.
--approved a memorandum of agreement with Franklin County Schools for FY24-25 to employ four school resource officers: Regina Cantrell at Belgreen, Greg Baker at Phil Campbell/East Franklin, Charles Hamby at Tharptown and Shane Mason at Vina.
