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D.A., board butt heads on employees’ pay
Published November 8, 2009
An effort by Alcovy District Attorney Ken Wynne to compensate some of his employees for working on state-imposed furlough days was met with some resistance at the Walton County Board of Commissioners meeting last week.
“Most businesses in town, they are having to lay people off,” Commissioner Gerald Atha said. “Taxes are going up. County employees have cut and cut. Their jobs are just as important as state employees. Who is going to help us when we have to start furloughing employees?
“The county seems to be robbing Peter to pay Paul.”
At the center of the debate was Wynne’s request to use monies collected through forfeitures such as cash from drug seizures to supplement state-paid employees in order to avoid furloughing them. Last fiscal year, Wynne requested two budget amendments to use forfeited funds totaling $3,924.67 for furloughed days in March, April, May and June. At Tuesday night’s meeting, Wynne requested to use as much as $10,365 to cover costs of not furloughing the four state-paid employees one day over each of the next 10 months. Gov. Sonny Perdue has only indicated three furlough days are necessary thus far, but Wynne said he wanted to be prepared for a worst-case scenario.
“I am trying to help the county stay out of lawsuits,” Wynne said to the commissioners, adding the money being used is done so at no direct cost to taxpayers. “We need to keep cases moving, but we can’t do that if I have to furlough people. I don’t want to have to go to the victims and tell them I can’t move their case because of something like this.”
Commissioner Kirklyn Dixon, who said he was in principle in favor of the move, asked the district attorney how the money is typically used. Wynne said it has been used for things such as training, purchasing of phones, computers or furniture when new staff is added and other costs related to the running of the district attorney’s office. Wynne noted with the eventual addition of a fifth judge to the circuit, this fund would probably be tapped then to equip the office to accommodate the addition.
The measure eventually passed 4-2, with Atha and Commissioner Clinton Ayers voting against the measure.
“These funds could be used to buy equipment they may need to apply for later out of the county budget,” Ayers said after the meeting as to why he voted against the proposal. “They are a state organization that uses state funds. If the state wanted those employees working, give them state money instead of using county money.”
The balance of the fund averages about $19,000 annually, according to county officials.
Newton County, which with Walton comprises the Alcovy Judicial Circuit, has approved similar budget amendments for the employees in the Newton County office. Wynne said after the meeting district attorney offices across the state that had similar funds available were following suit in paying employees for the furlough days.
The fund is the result of 10 percent of fines and forfeitures directed toward the prosecutor’s office to help offset operations of the office. Wynne said if the employees did not work during the furloughed days, prosecution of cases would fall further behind — adding to the cost of housing inmates.
The measure approved was to increase the county’s compensation to the employees for the furlough days and the county will be reimbursed out of the forfeiture account.
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