Washington County Commissioners approved an amendment to the County employees’ retirement plan during their Thursday, February 10 meeting.
County Administrator Dustin Peebles explained that the amendment concerns employee bonuses.
“In the future, when we do any bonuses, the amendment eliminates having to pay retirement on those bonuses,” said County Administrator Peebles. “This amendment will allow us to eliminate that requirement.
County Administrator Peebles went on to say that bonuses typically come from money that the County receives from State or Federal sources.
“They usually don’t provide that additional funding for retirement; they do provide FICA and Social Security, but they don’t usually provide anything beyond that,” stated County Administrator Peebles.
After hearing the changes to the retirement plan, Commissioner Frank Simmons moved to accept the recommended changes; Commissioner Doug Watkins seconded, and the vote carried unanimously.
Commissioners also voted to approve the bills for the month; those bills totaled $891,068.36.
At the conclusion of the meeting, County Administrator Peebles discussed the closed session of the meeting; he stated that this session included discussion about hiring a consultant.
County Administrator Peebles explained that the consultant would be tasked with assisting the County on financial services and ways to improve revenue streams. Commissioners voted unanimously to proceed with hiring the consultant.
During the public comment session following the meeting, Commissioner Doug Watkins asked for an update regarding the new Elections Office. Director of Elections Cathy Hagans was present and explained that things are “coming along;” she stated that they are waiting on the furniture shipment, as well as the wi-fi/internet service.