The DeWitt County Board has rejected a proposal to offer roughly 12 employees a $1000 bonus for continuing to work during the thick of the COVID pandemic.
At last Thursday night's DeWitt County Board agenda was a measure to offer the employees a bonus through the federal COVID stimulus funds. A similar measure was approved to pay County first responders the bonus.
Board member Nate Ennis spoke out against the measure saying government employees never get bonuses but Finance Committee Chairperson Melonie Tilley also made note the County shouldn't be picking-and-choosing who gets a bonus.
David Newberg was the County's Chairman during the first half of the pandemic and spoke up Thursday in defense of those 12 employees and the work they did while the rest of the County's employees had the luxury of being safe at home.
Board member Aaron Kammeyer inquired as to how furloughs worked for employees that were sent home and how the County determined essential vs non-essential. County Clerk Dana Smith chimed in as to how it worked in her office during this period.
The measure failed by a 5-5 vote. Board Chair Terry Ferguson, Jamie Prestegaard, Dan Matthews, Jay Wickenhauser, and Newberg supported the measure. Buck Carter, Megan Myers, Ennis, Tilley, and Kammeyer voted against it.
Friday morning on the WHOW Morning Show, responding to Ennis' comments suggesting government employees do not receive bonuses, Ferguson proposed he look into government officials in Springfield and see what happens there.
