By By Steve Swogetinsky/The Meridian Star
Feb. 23, 2001
DEKALB n They might not be happy, but employees of the Kemper County Sheriff's Department are back on the job.
The employees were angered earlier this month when they learned that the Kemper County Board of Supervisors gave all courthouse employees a $100 a month pay raise but did not extend that salary increase to the rest of the county's employees.
There was a brief work stoppage earlier this month, but the employees returned to work when board president James Granger promised to see if the budget would allow other raises.
During a meeting earlier this week, the board voted 3-2 to rescind the earlier pay raises meaning no one received a pay raise. Supervisors said to award raises to all employees would add $88,000 to the county's budget, money they do not have.
That angered the employees even more. They expressed their disappointment to the supervisors, and later met with Sheriff Sam Tisdale. Some were considering leaving their jobs, but on Wednesday, cooler heads apparently prevailed.
McGrevey said there have been no meetings between the supervisors and the employees.
Steve Swogetinsky is regional editor of The Meridian Star. E-mail him at sswogetinsky@themeridianstar.com.