By Ray King
Jefferson County finished 2020 spending $6.5 million less than it did in 2019 and collecting $1.3 million more in tax revenue than in 2019.
On Friday, Jefferson County Judge Gerald Robinson appeared on the Oldies 101.3 morning show and talked about the financial situation, and the actions that were necessary to turn it around.
Robinson said over time, despite the loss in population, the number of county employees increased and since the county’s largest expenditure is payroll, changes had to be made.
He went on to say that raises are on the horizon, with county employees receiving at least a 4-percent across the board, and more for law enforcement personnel.
Robinson said state law provides that elected officials receive a 3-percent pay raise annually, but Jefferson County elected officials have not received a raise since 2008. While he said it would be impossible to make up all that money at once, he’s going to make a start,
“If we didn’t get one-cent of the casino money, we would still be able to do the raises,” Robinson said.
Previous county judges and members of the Quorum Court tried to improve county finances and were unsuccessful. Robinson was asked how he succeeded when they failed.
Robinson also talked about the increased revenue and attributed part of that to changes like a new phone system and inventory control.
A total of $180,000 was saved by reducing the number of county vehicles and another $680,000 from workforce reductions, he said.
Revenue from sales taxes being paid to businesses like grocery stores, WalMart and others whose businesses continued to thrive despite the pandemic which Robinson said resulted in a 40-percent reduction in the amount the county was expecting from Saracen Casino.
Currently, 75-percent of the casino revenue goes into the reserve fund and the remaining 25 percent into county general.