Henry Commission to revisit employee raises

A proposal was put forth in front of the Henry county commission in Atlanta to increase the wage rate in the county by 10.5%. This proposal was dismissed by the commission saying that a cost of $6.6 million would hurt Henry if an economic lag occurs. Some also proposed a merit-based increase in salary rather than a uniform increase for all. 

Chairwoman Carlotta Harrell during the county's latest mid-month board meeting said that she hopes to bring back the raise proposal as an agenda for the February workshop or board meeting and asked fellow commissioners to submit to county manager Cheri-Hobson Matthews alternate plans they think the board should consider. She said "I would like to request that we continue this dialogue and see if we can come to an agreement on the increase of our employees"," as we can agree, retention of our employees is critical."

Henry currently has over 200 vacant positions to fill and Matthews believes that an increased salary would definitely aid in the process. This is necessary to keep Henry competitive with other metropolitan cities and counties in Atlanta. 

Source: The Atlanta-Journal Constitution