DeKalb CEO pushes cost of living adjustment for county retirees

DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond presented his budget to the DeKalb commission on Tuesday. (Alyssa Pointer/Atlanta Journal Constitution)

Credit: Alyssa Pointer/Atlanta Journal Constitution

Credit: Alyssa Pointer/Atlanta Journal Constitution

DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond presented his budget to the DeKalb commission on Tuesday. (Alyssa Pointer/Atlanta Journal Constitution)

DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond's proposed 2020 budget includes a cost-of-living adjustment for county retirees.

In a news release distributed Thursday, Thurmond said the 2% increase would affect about 11,000 retirees and beneficiaries and cost about $2.1 million annually.

The increase would go into effect July 1, 2020, and make two straight years that retirees received an adjustment — after going the previous 14 years without one.

“We are able to propose this much-needed increase because the county has made prudent financial decisions for the past three budget cycles,” Thurmond said in the news release.

Thurmond submitted his proposed budget to the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners on Dec. 13 and it will be voted on by the end of February.

The $752 million spending plan includes a proposed 4% raise for around 2,300 DeKalb employees who work in public safety — everyone from police and firefighters to probation and code enforcement officers

About 4,100 county employees who do not work in public safety would receive a 2% pay bump.