11/23/2004 - Laserfiche WebLink

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County Administrator Baird reviewed his memo about the exempt employees who put in countless hours because of the two recent hurricanes. He advised the amounts surrounding counties and municipalities are compensating their exempt employees. He pointed out that back-to-back hurricanes are not normal and that he had thought long and hard about his recommendation to pay a $1,500 bonus from contingency funds to 81 exempt employees who each had worked in excess of 20 hours. He noted that many of them had worked as many as 312 hours beyond their normally scheduled hours. He asked the Commissioners to please consider the proposal to compensate them with this bonus for their hard work and dedication. He had tried to balance his recommendation with what will be a difficult financial year. He reviewed the funds from which the dollars would come. He thought this to be a very conservative plan and was almost sure it will not be reimbursed by FEMA. While he philosophically disagreed, Commissioner Wheeler pointed out that this was a unique situation with two hurricanes back-to-back. He commended County Administrator Baird for this recommendation for those employees for going above and beyond to help the county. MOTION WAS MADE BY Commissioner Wheeler, SECONDED by Commissioner Lowther, to approve the recommendation and funding sources. Commissioner Lowther echoed Commissioner Wheeler’s comments and added that Indian River County is way ahead of other counties in storm recovery. Commissioner Bowden believed our employees were exceptional and commended County Administrator Baird for his conservative plan. She gave his recommendation her full support, thanked the employees, and wished them a happy Thanksgiving. Commissioner Davis agreed we have endured an extreme and unusual event and that staff had done a good job. However, he was looking out for the people who pay the taxes and for that reason he would not support the motion. November 23, 2004 16