CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Facing growing pressure on hiring and retention, Montgomery County Government is proposing a 5% raise for all county employees.

“Inflation the way it is, we have some people that quite frankly aren’t making a living wage, in my opinion, and I think we’re addressing that in our pay plan,” County Mayor Jim Durrett told Clarksville Now, referring to a proposed revamp of the county’s pay plan, currently in the works.

“But if it takes us to December to get that ready – our people are hurting,” he said. “We’re having trouble recruiting people. We’re having trouble hiring people. So it’s not only to help the people that we have, but also maybe to draw talent to Montgomery County.”

On Tuesday, the Budget Committee approved shifting money to several budgets to cover cost-of-living adjustments for their employees, at a total cost of over $3.85 million:

  • County General Fund: $3.5 million
  • Highway Fund: $250,000
  • Risk Management: $11,000
  • Public Library: $90,000

All of that will come out of the county fund balance, currently at $48 million, Durrett said at the meeting.

Montgomery County has been working on the revised employee pay plan for several months, but getting it finished is “complicated,” Durrett said, and with over 1,000 employees, it’s important to get everything right.

“We had hoped we could have the new plan before the County Commission in August,” county spokesperson Michelle Newell told Clarksville Now. “Unfortunately, that time frame will not work.”

Montgomery County will continue to work on the pay plan with a goal for implementation later this year. The COLA raise will roll into the pay plan – it won’t be in addition to the pay plan changes.

The 5% COLA raise covers all county employees, including the Sheriff’s Office and EMS. It doesn’t apply to teachers, whose salaries are determined by the Clarksville-Montgomery County School Board. Other agencies whose employees aren’t county workers, such Bi-County and E-911, would have to make separate decisions for their employees.

If approved by the full County Commission, the raise would be retroactive to July. It won’t apply to elected and appointed officials whose salaries are controlled by the state.

The raise will be voted on by the County Commission on Monday, Aug. 8, at 6 p.m. at the County Courthouse.