Politics & Government

Fairfax County Board Proposes One-Time $500 Bonus for Employees

Fairfax County employees union leader says money isn't enough — and supervisors have "got to do something" about base pay.

By William Callahan

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is set to consider a one-time bonus for full-time county employees when it allocates surplus budget money from Fiscal Year 2013 in September.

The county has roughly $27 million left over from the last fiscal year, which came to a close on June 30, according to staff estimates.

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Board Chairman Sharon Bulova has proposed using about $6 million of the surplus to give full-time employees a one-time, $500 bonus.

Employees did not receive pay increases or market rate adjustments to their salaries in the Fiscal Year 2014 Budget, so officials hope the bonus will lessen the blow.

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“I believe that the board has the opportunity to consider a one-time employee pay incentive,” Bulova said of the surplus.

Other board members supported the idea, too; Supervisor Gerry Hyland (D-Mount Vernon) even recommended increasing the bonus amount to $1,000, using about $12 million.

Bulova said officials would consider the full range of options.

“I think we need to show our employees that they are our most valuable asset,” Supervisor Pat Herrity (R-Springfield) said.

But while Paula Woodrum, president of the Fairfax County Government Employees Union, SEIU VA 512, told Patch she appreciated the thought and the effort of the Board, a bonus wouldn’t be enough.

“I don’t think that a $500 bonus would provide a lot of relief for county employees,” she said.

The county’s employee unions have presented the Board with a petition for the reinstatement of a 2 percent market rate adjustment and performance-based raises effective Jan. 1, 2014.

“We all know that it’s a delicate balance,” Woodrum said. “They’ve got to do something. It really needs to go to the base pay and a bonus doesn’t go to the base pay.”

The county is engaging employees in a proposed “workforce dialogue,” a series of workshops where employees and officials will formulate a new pay plan, starting in September.


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