Tony London
Final approval was given to a proposal giving a one-time bonus to nearly 55% of all Bartholomew County employees at the end of this week.
Initial approval was unanimously given Dec. 6 by the Bartholomew County commissioners to allocate $357,750 for what the county describes as “employee premium pay.” Final approval of the bonuses was given Monday.
There will be 227 full-time employees receiving a one-time payment of $1,500, while 23-part time workers will get a single-payment of $750.
Impacted employees are assigned to the following departments: County Clerk; Code Enforcement; County Commissioners staff members (not elected officials); E911; Emergency Management; Environmental Health; County Highway Department; Information Technology; County Jail; Maintenance; Public Health Nursing; Sheriff’s Department and Weights and Measures.
Those who have faced the greatest dangers during the current pandemic are health department nurses, patrol officers and corrections officers at the county jail, Commissioner Tony London said.
After the initial vote was taken last week, the commissioners went back over the 456 county workers and determined there are a small number of additional people entitled to the bonus, London said.
Commissioners Chairman Larry Kleinhenz specifically mentioned some employees of Bartholomew County Youth Services during Monday’s meeting.
“We may add to the list after the New Year,” Kleinhenz said.
The money will come from the $8 million the county last spring received through the federal American Rescue Plan (ARP).
The bill specifically states a government employee is not eligible for this bonus if they were eligible to work from home during the pandemic in 2020, London said. No bonuses can be paid to elected officials or former employees no longer in service to the county.
While not every Bartholomew County employee will receive a bonus, Kleinhenz expressed his satisfaction that not one county employee missed a paycheck in 2020.
An additional $8.2 million in federal ARP funds is expected to be received by Bartholomew County government next year, but details regarding how that money will be spent are still being worked out, the commissioners said.
