Fairfax County employees are asking for a 3.5 percent pay raise — 2 percent higher than the county was slated to approve next week — and the county’s Board of Supervisors may give it to them.
The county now has an extra $8 million to give out as part of its $104 million budget surplus after a judge dismissed a lawsuit filed against the county by Verizon. Staff had budgeted the $8 million for the lawsuit in case the judge ruled against the county.
The county also has an extra $250,000 after the federal government dropped a requirement last week that would have forced the county to upgrade its street signs to make them easier to read.
Fairfax County employees, who haven’t had a raise in three years, say at least some of that extra money should go to them.
“We’ve seen a large increase in our health care costs as well as other costs of employment, such as getting to work,” said Karen Conchar, president of the county employees’ union. “We looked at the surrounding jurisdictions and saw they were awarded between 3 and 4 percent in the last year.”
Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Sharon Bulova on Tuesday indicated she may seek a bigger raise for employees. Both Democratic and Republican board members expressed support for it to The Washington Examiner.
“I definitely think our employees are entitled to a compensation increase at this point,” said Supervisor John Foust, D-Dranesville. “We haven’t done it because we couldn’t afford it, and if it’s a possibility I think we should.”
Supervisor John Cook, R-Braddock, agreed, saying a 2.5 to 3 percent raise would be appropriate given increasing costs like health care.
“I know there are citizens who might look at this and say, ‘Gee that’s a big raise,’ but it’s really not. All 3 percent does is keep them even in their take-home,” he said.
Bulova said that she wants to make sure most of the surplus is set aside for next year as a buffer in case the economy doesn’t rebound.
“You continue to hear concerns in the community about us not recovering as quickly as we’d like to,” she said. “I think we need to be especially careful.”
Residents have protested county employee salaries and pensions in the past, saying the county pays far more in salaries and benefits than the private sector or the federal government.
The board will vote on the surplus package at its Sept. 13 meeting.
