Jul. 21—ALBANY — The good news is Dougherty County workers are getting a pay raise. The bad news is that it will mean a property tax increase for taxpayers.

During a Thursday news conference, Dougherty County Commission Chairman Chris Cohilas linked the two issues and noted that the commission has not revisited either in years. He said he expects the pay increases will bring in an influx of job applicants to fill positions.

The county will hold a job fair from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday at the the Government Center, located at 222 Pine Ave.

"Dougherty County is now open for business," he said. "We are looking for the best, the brightest and hardest-working (to come) where people know they will be appreciated, they will be adequately trained and will be paid a better wage than anybody in any other county in the area.

"There is an intersection sometimes between taxes and pay. This time the needs of our employees trumped."

At the time the chairman spoke, the county was 135 short of the 650 who would be on the job if the county were fully staffed. Of those, 52 are at the Dougherty County Sheriff's Office, which currently is down 47 jailers and five deputies at the county's Judicial Building.

Commissioners approved the pay increase earlier this month with the approval of a pay scale developed by an outside consultant, with raises set to go into effect on Oct. 1. On Monday they will tackle the job of finding the little more than $4 million needed to pay for the outlays.

Cohilas defended the county's financial stewardship, saying Dougherty County probably gets the most value out of each dollar spent than any in Georgia, as well as the need for recognizing employees' dedication and hard work.

"I remember back in 2008, 2009, back when we went through the financial crisis, that we were literally furloughing employees," he said. "We still got up every morning and went to work despite the fact we were doing it for free. We haven't (done) furloughs again, but we may as well have because it has been unconscionable what we have been paying" our employees.

The last time the county initiated a pay scale to adjust salaries was 22 years ago, he said. In addition to the financial crisis that caused belt-tightening, during that time employees have worked through four presidentially declared disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I want everyone to understand we have a dedicated group of employees in this county who have worked through crisis after crisis, disasters and COVID without (receiving) a livable wage," Cohilas said.

The pay scale will increase salaries based on employee job position and years of employment. It will increase the starting salary for the lowest paid from $10 to $13 an hour.

The minimum wage increase and pay scale will put salaries in Dougherty County at the top in the region and should bring an influx of people seeking jobs, including some former employees who left to work elsewhere for better pay, Cohilas said.

"Instead of losing the best, we will be attracting the best," he said. "Instead of attracting the mediocre, we will be attracting the most talented. If it were up to me, I'd give them more. I'm very thankful to my commissioners and our employees for their support."

Dougherty County Sheriff Kevin Sproul echoed Cohilas' statement about the significance of the pay raises.

"This has been one of the best moments for us, too," he said during an interview following the news conference. "We definitely rode the backs of the employees for several years. We just realize the services they provide are needed, and they need to take care of them."

The commission's Finance Committee will meet at 8 a.m. Monday to discuss the tax issue and will make a recommendation on a millage rate hike to the full board during the meeting at 10 a.m., Ed Newsome, who chairs the Finance Committee, said.

"I think it was absolutely the best thing we could have done," he said of the raises. "I've said this before, but our employees are our best asset. It's critical. We can't afford to lose public safety. We can't afford to lose police."

Most employees will receive a pay increase this year of at least 2.5 percent, County Administrator Michael McCoy said. In addition, all employees will receive a $1,000 lump sum distribution in December.

A former HR employee revealed the question he recommends asking at the end of every job interview.

"I now work remotely and get paid MUCH more than I did in my previous high-stress position."View Entire Post ›

In a viral TikTok video, Naturi Greene said she only heard back from Target after she re-applied with a new name and listed herself as "mixed race."

The recently married business partners have turned a minuscule $200 investment into a $5 million enterprise – and the momentum is scaling fast.

After Big Tech grew in unprecedented and unchecked fashion for a decade, building ostentatious palaces to house growing workforces while plying them luxuriant freebies to keep them from defecting to rivals, is the wild ride over?

A judge wrote that the only evidence Nunes offered “undermines rather than corroborates his claim.”

Tesla needs more lithium, a key material in electric-car batteries. "You can't lose," Musk said of the current prices.

Tech giants Microsoft and Google have just taken additional hard decisions ahead of their earnings reports.

Have you ever considered entering the government sector? Here’s a list of high-paying Illinois state government jobs, including positions in finance, nursing and engineering.

Employees from Activision Blizzard walked off their jobs today in order to demand protections for the staff members impacted by the loss of abortion rights in the United States. The walkouts impacted studios in California, Texas, Minnesota, and New York.

In your 20s, as you start your career and make real money for the first time, your spending changes. After living with your parents or in a college dorm, you can afford a place of your own and might...

A major Bluetooth headphone maker, Dongguan Koppo Electronics Co, has decided to shut down for good and dismiss all its workers, becoming the latest casualty of the economic headwinds, supply chain disruptions and trading woes that have hit China's manufacturing heartland. Koppo Electronics, which has operated its factory in the city of Dongguan in southern Guangdong province for 12 years, said it was ceasing operations partly because "a number of cross-border e-commerce clients have failed to m

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexico has questioned the use of cultural elements from the Mayan indigenous community by Chinese fast fashion company Shein in the design of one of its garments, prompting the retailer to remove the product from its website. The Culture Ministry said some details of Shein's "Fan-Trim Top with Floral Print" were similar to a traditional huipil embroidery made in 2017 by an artisanal clothing brand from southeastern Mexico. "These designs have been passed down from generation to generation, so they are the product of a collective creativity corresponding to the Mayan people," the ministry said in a letter to the company.

A few thoughts about the recent Nord Stream 1 situation and European gas.

NewsmaxDonald Trump’s favorite New Jersey defense lawyer, Alina Habba, was sued Tuesday by a Black former legal assistant who claims she was tormented by her boss loudly and repeatedly singing the N-word while listening to rap.And the lawsuit alleges that Habba earlier this year lost her cool when she suffered a legal defeat to New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is Black—angrily shouting, “I hate that Black bitch!”A tipster alerted The Daily Beast to the lawsuit Wednesday evening, and

The former waiter says he and others were not properly paid at Guy Fieri’s Downtown Flavortown restaurant, according to the federal lawsuit.

India's newest budget carrier Akasa Air, which is backed by billionaire Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, has opened ticket sales for its first commercial flights starting Aug. 7, the airline said in a statement on Friday. Akasa's initial network will include a total of 56 weekly flights between the western cities of Mumbai and Ahmedabad and the southern cities of Bengaluru and Kochi on its new Boeing 737 MAX planes, it said. "Akasa Air's network strategy is focused on establishing a strong pan-India presence and providing linkages from metro to tier 2 and tier 3 cities across the country," said Praveen Iyer, the airline's co-founder and chief commercial officer.

As a potential recession looms, investors should be prepared for the cloud boom to return to earth, and there is potential for a larger pullback in cloud spending that could have a domino effect on already bludgeoned tech stocks

Leaving the working world behind can be an exciting but daunting prospect. Even if you have all your financial ducks in a row, you may find yourself doubting if you're actually prepared to enter this...

One of Biden’s top energy aides confirmed Friday that no extension of releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve - scheduled to end this fall - is in the offing. But added a promise that it’s not going to lead to any supply shocks.