Ga. county officials respond to increased cost of living, giving first responders a second pay raise

By Alia Malik
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Citing a persistently competitive job market and high public safety vacancy rates, the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved raises of at least 5% for all full-time county employees.

First responders in the police, fire, emergency services, corrections and 911 departments and the sheriff’s, district attorney’s and solicitor’s offices will receive 8% raises. The increases are retroactive to the pay period that began Sept. 30.

“We felt that this was a good move to ensure that we can continue to maintain a quality workforce and also recruit and retain in the areas where we are bleeding, which is our public safety personnel,” County Commission Chairwoman Nicole Love Hendrickson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The Gwinnett County Police Department has 199 vacancies as of Wednesday, representing about 21% of authorized positions. Chief J.D. McClure said police academy graduation rates had improved and the county has eight more 911 dispatchers than the beginning of the year.

“We’re slowly getting there,” he said. “It just takes time.”

McClure said the police department’s salary and benefits are on par with other local agencies and the raises allow the department to stay competitive in the job market.

Sheriff Keybo Taylor thanked commissioners and County Administrator Glenn Stephens after Tuesday’s vote. He did not know the number of vacancies in his department offhand.

“If it’s one, it’s too high,” he said.

The county commission last year approved 8-10% raises across the board, but cost of living has increased more than 6% since then, Human Resources Director Adrienne McAllister said.

The raises will cost the county $8 million, which comes from the payroll budget for vacant positions and unspent funds from various county departments, Hendrickson said.

“We’ve had some savings because of the vacancies and we’re already projected to end our fiscal year very strong,” she said. “We wanted to reinvest that back into our employees and we wanted to do so before the holidays come.”

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