Lake County employees who saw their holiday pay previously canceled, in an effort to alleviate a nearly $10 million shortfall projected in the budget, will end up getting that money after all.
Last week, the Lake County Board unanimously approved the reversal of that decision, which was made in August and impacted the pay of nearly 1,100 non-union county workers for the Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and day after Thanksgiving holidays.
The turnaround comes after the U.S. Treasury Department last month modified how governments can spend CARES Act funding.
The department has repeatedly revised the spending rules of the economic stimulus bill that was passed in March in response to the pandemic, giving government bodies the task of continually reviewing their allocations.
“When I first found out that we would not be paid for three holidays that we were used to being paid for in the past, it was disappointing,” said Katie Miller, a payroll analyst in the Human Resources Department. “After thinking about it further, if this option helped to reduce the need for cutting positions and a lesser financial burden for the county, it was worth it. Then, to find out that the county was not in as much of a deficit as originally forecasted, and we would in fact be paid for those holidays, it has been a pleasant surprise.”
The much-debated original proposal played out during hours of back-and-forth from board members, who said they felt the weight of the difficult decision. The 11-10 vote was expected to save the county up to $1.8 million.
Finance Committee Chair Paul Frank said it was agreed the issue would be revisited at the time of the original proposal, should new information relating to the federal dollars be presented.
The updated spending flexibility is allowing more COVID-19 costs to be covered under the health department and the sheriff’s office, Frank said.
The county’s departments were able to reduce expenses out of the current budget by $20 million, according to communications officer Erin Thrower.
Many board members who spoke before taking the reversal vote last week expressed satisfaction to be retroactively paying employees for the Labor Day holiday, and be reinstating the pay for the Thanksgiving holidays.
Board member Judy Martini said she was glad to be “making things right” with the workers.
“We value our employees,” she said.
Board member Steve Carlson, who had suggested the board only vote on the Labor Day holiday and wait on taking action on the other two November dates, lamented the reversal had to be made in the first place.
“We did not have to take this action last month,” he said.
Board member Terry Wilke said he wanted to remind the board that at the time, “we acted on the best information that we had; that was staff’s recommendation.”
“When the federal government finally came through, we had new information and we’re acting on that now,” Wilke said.
“As a department head, it gives me a sense of pride to know that the Lake County Board is as concerned for my employee’s welfare as I am, and were willing to make a change in policy based on updated information,” said Robert Glueckert, chief county assessment officer.
