County employees may soon see a change in the way they are paid if the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors approves a paperless payment system during their meeting Monday at 9 a.m.
Board President Harry Sanders said the current system of paying the county’s around 330 employees is causing confusion and becoming a nightmare.
Employees are paid on the 15th and 31st of the month, but their pay period ends on their payday, so time sheets must be turned in two days before the pay period ends in order to print and distribute the checks. If employees call in sick or don’t come to work on one of those days, they may be paid anyway.
If approved, the new system will hold back one week of pay to keep that from happening. But Sanders said supervisors realize that many employees live paycheck to paycheck and such a sudden change would cause a hardship. To make the transition easier for them, supervisors plan to hold back one day per pay period, finishing the changeover by May.
At the same time, they hope to save money by moving to direct deposit of payroll checks, eliminating paper checks. Employees who do not have a checking account will be offered a debit card, which will be loaded with their wages each payday.
Monday’s agenda also includes the appointment of a new business and industry representative on the board of the Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitors Bureau. The one-year term of current Board Treasurer Bart Wise is ending, and he has reapplied for the position. Sanders said Wise, who is the president of Trustmark National Bank in Columbus, was the only applicant for the seat.
The supervisors also plan to discuss the following issues:
n Advertising semi-annual bids for the road department;
n Reauthorizing the Mississippi Legislature to grant funds to the United Way of Lowndes County, which will then distribute them to local agencies;
n Authorizing County Tax Assessor to proceed with a late land tax sale;
n Reopening Co-Op Road;
n Appointing Lowndes County Chief Deputy Marc Miley as assistant receiving clerk, so he can sign for deliveries at the sheriff’s office;
n Signing off on the Southgate Sewer District’s board appointments;
n Re-approving a statewide mutual aid contract, which states that Lowndes County will come to the aid of other counties whenever there is a natural disaster or other catastrophe;
n Agreeing to advertise with the Tennessee Williams Tribute and Columbus magazine;
n Approving the execution of documents to begin erosion repair and control at the site of a water and sewer line near the Waterworks Road bridge and a dredging project at Magowah Creek to remove silt and undergrowth from the creek.
Carmen K. Sisson is the former news editor at The Dispatch.
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