Bradley County finance committee recommends 15% pay raise for most employees, funded by 8.5-cent property tax adjustment

The Bradley County Finance Committee voted unanimously on June 5 to recommend a countywide compensation increase that would raise most county employees' pay by 15%, with employees earning above $75,000 receiving 12%. The committee paired the raise with a proposed 8.5-cent increase in the county property tax rate to cover the cost; the change is to take effect with the first payroll in October (the pay period that begins Sept. 28).

The motion, made by Commissioner Offford and seconded by Commissioner Slater, passed 5-0 after commissioners completed staff calculations showing the tax adjustment required to fund the raises. The package explicitly includes fee-generated offices (whose fee revenue collections will fall as their salaries rise), part-time employees and the road and fire funds: the committee instructed staff to account for fee-office revenue losses when finalizing the resolution.

Why it matters: commissioners argued the county is losing first responders and other staff because of noncompetitive pay. Commissioner Slater said the turnover was visible in service-line experience, noting that "51% of the workforce of our fire department has less than five years of seniority," and urging higher raises to retain trained personnel. Several commissioners said they wanted to avoid immediate cuts to services and preferred a property-tax approach to fund the increase rather than reducing department budgets midyear.

Budget and timing: county staff presented calculations showing the combined tax adjustment (8.5 cents overall) and the impact on a typical home. County finance staff reported that on a $350,000 house the countywide portion of the increase is approximately $73.79 annually; when combined with fire tax adjustments the increase for some residences in the fringe area would be roughly $113 per year. The committee chose an effective date tied to the first October payroll to protect cash flow through the property tax collection cycle.

How the raises will be implemented: the committee specified that employees earning more than $75,000 will receive 12% while other employees receive 15%. The motion also included part-time employees and fee offices; commissioners directed department heads to review pay relationships so a raise does not inadvertently widen internal pay disparities.

Officials' reactions: Sheriff Lawson, who addressed the committee before the vote, said the increases do not fully solve pay inequities but will bring the department closer to competitive levels: "Is this does this get us there? No, it doesn't. But it gets us close," he said. Gayla Miller, speaking for her office, noted the low starting pay for some county positions and thanked the committee: "Starting pay for my office is $25,000 a year," she said, calling the action important for employees.

Next steps: the finance committee recommended the pay plan and tax adjustment to the full commission as part of the mayor's budget package. Staff will produce the formal resolution and final tax numbers for the full commission agenda and will include the fee-office offset calculations discussed in committee. The committee flagged the grant-writer and other staffing proposals for later review but did not add them to the immediate tax calculation.

Context and caveats: commissioners emphasized the decision is intended to improve recruitment and retention. They also warned that the recurring salary increases will increase future budget pressures and urged monitoring of fund balances and next-year projections. The committee noted some departments (notably the road department) have seasonal cashflow needs and that staff calculations accounted for those timing issues when setting the effective date.