TEXARKANA, Ark. - All full-time Miller County employees, who have been working for the county at least a year, will get $750 more by the end of this year.
The Miller County Quorum Court agreed during a special meeting Tuesday to pay all 164 of the full-time county employees a $750 retention bonus before the year's ends.
Prior to Tuesday's meeting, the court's Budget and Finance Committee met briefly Monday and agreed to propose the retention bonus idea to the full Quorum Court.
Presently, the county is slated to receive $1.4 million in Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act funds, which will not only help pay for the retention bonuses, but also help bolster the county's overall finances going into next year.
Following the unanimous vote in favor of the retention bonuses by the nine justices of the peace, present at Tuesday's meeting, the JPs started some preliminary discussion on the county's upcoming Fiscal Year 2021 Budget.
This budget calls for $18,674,963 in projected expenditures for next year. Of that amount, at least $7,204,740 will be in county general funds. These funds include finance for the County Clerks Office, Sheriff's Office, Judges Office and some for the Circuit Clerk's Office.
The remaining $11,470,223 will be for the road department, which will need At least $3 or $4 million of it, with the rest going to finance the county's health department, as well as help fund the prosecutors office, court secretaries, courthouse maintenance and other expenditures.
Miller County Budget and Finance Committee Chairman Ernest Pender said both the committee and full Quorum Court will likely meet again after Thanksgiving, to continue budget planning.