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Madison County Board freezes FY2021 COLA for non‑bargaining employees after 17–11 vote
Summary
After a heated exchange over revenue projections and reserves, the Madison County Board voted 17–11 to rescind the FY2021 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for non‑bargaining unit employees, citing an estimated $3–3.7 million revenue shortfall.
The Madison County Board voted 17–11 on Aug. 19 to rescind the FY2021 cost-of-living adjustment for non‑bargaining unit employees, a measure the Personnel and Labor Relations Committee presented as a temporary freeze to address a projected revenue shortfall.
Committee member Erica Harriss told the Board the decision responds to anticipated revenue declines tied to the COVID‑19 epidemic: "What we're looking at is a revenue shortfall that we believe is going to last into the next year," she said. County finance staff revised projections during the meeting; Jennifer Zoelzer reported the county is "looking at the revenue falling about 3 million under what we had projected" and that including budget reappropriations the general fund gap was approximately $3.7 million.
Board member Matt King questioned the timing and reserves, asking, "Why are we so broke? And do we not have any reserves?" Several members supported the freeze as a shared sacrifice to avoid layoffs. Opponents framed the vote as an austerity step that hits county employees; Mike Parkinson criticized previous spending decisions and suggested broader accountability measures.
The resolution passed with 17 votes in favor and 11 opposed; the record names the AYES and NAYS. The resolution rescinds the COLA scheduled to take effect Dec. 1, 2020, but does not change step pay plans. County officials said federal and state COVID funds are not eligible to replace the projected sales-tax revenue losses that drove the measure. The Board recorded the vote and moved to other agenda items.
