The Berrien County Board of Commissioners has given final approval to hazard pay for county employees, this time including part time employees who worked during the worst of the COVID pandemic. Commissioners previously agreed to pay $1,000 bonuses to 468 full time employees. Commissioner Jim Curran said Thursday the move is appropriate.
“I like this resolution,” Curran said. “I think it demonstrates that we really do care about our employees, and as I said before, when we were in the midst of this talking about essential employees, I regard all of our employees as essential, and I like this resolution. I think people sometimes look at, ‘Oh, gee. You’ve got $30 million. You can do whatever you want with it.’ Well, it’s not quite that simple, and you can see that in the resolution. We’re making a conscious effort to do this.”
The county is moving funds out of other departments to reduce the cost to the general fund, which is expected to come in at $345,000 for the full time workers. Part time employees will receive up to $500, depending on the number of hours they worked. County Administrator Brian Dissette said some worked the maximum 1,000 hours in the year and will get the full $500, while others worked less and will receive less. The commission in August gave initial approval to the hazard pay, which enabled Dissette to start the process.
