TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV)– Vigo County employees are set to receive 4% raise next year, the county council decided in a 4-3 vote last Tuesday.
Vigo County councilmember at large Todd Thacker said the budget committee recommended a 2.5% raise, but he believed factors like inflation called for more.
“You have to look at what the inflationary times are,” he said. “You look at the cost of living and what they did to social security, it was 8.7%. So 4% seems pretty small in comparison.”
The 1.5% increase represents an additional $850,000, according to Thacker, but he said the county has the money to cover it.
“For me, the reason I felt comfortable doing that was we have approximately 20 million dollars in surplus. We’re not going to go broke, we’re not going to have to raise taxes. We have the money to do the right thing for the employees,” he said.
He said the county council had commissioned a study for the budget earlier this year, but had yet to see the results. He said if they come by the first of the year, the council could increase the raise if they see fit.
Thacker said the raises are important for retention.
We’re trying to retain quality employees with the county, and I feel like our employees are our number one asset that the county has,” he said.
