Highland Supervisors Approve Bonuses For County Employees

Monterey, VA – After approving the School Board’s request to appropriate just over $34,000 of federal stimulus funding for employee bonuses at Tuesday evening’s meeting, Board of Supervisor’s chairman David Blanchard brought a proposal for county employee bonuses to the Board for discussion. County Administrator Roberta Lambert says the cost of the bonus would be a little over $15,000.00.

Supervisor Blanchard was in favor of the bonuses, although Supervisor Rexrode spoke out against the idea, saying no one else in the country was getting bonuses this year. However. contrary to Mr. Rexrode’s statement that no one is receiving bonuses this year, just before Thanksgiving, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnel announced that all eligible Virginia state employees will receive a one-time 3% bonus this year. For Virginia’s 117,000 state workers, this amounts to about 82 million dollars.

Supervisor Sullenberger then asked County Administrator Roberta Lambert if the county budget could absorb the amount for the bonuses and she replied that it could. He told Blanchard that if he made a motion, he would support it.

Supervisor Blanchard made a motion to give county employees a 1 and % bonus and the motion was seconded by Supervisor Sullenberger. In the discussion that followed, the motion was changed to include a bonus for hourly workers and those in the social services office who are partially funded by the county, for a total expenditure of about 16 thousand dollars. The motion was approved by a vote of 2 to 1, with Supervisor Rexrode voting no.

In other business, the Board appointed Harry Sponaugle to another 4 year term on the Highland County Planning Commission. The Board also approved the county office holiday schedule. The Governor has given state employees the Thursday and Friday before Christmas and the Friday before New Year’s Day as state holidays, so the county followed suit and did the same.

The next regular meeting of the Highland County Board of Supervisors will be Tuesday, January 4, 2011, at 7:30 PM at the Modular Conference Center in Monterey.