Those on the front lines of the coronavirus fight in Henry County will soon get a boost in pay for hazardous duties while similar workers in neighboring Clayton will not.
The Henry Commission on Tuesday approved spending an estimated $800,000 to give EMTs, firefighters, sheriff’s deputies and Meals on Wheels distributors an extra $2.50 an hour for their work over the past month.
But a proposal by Clayton Commissioner Felicia Franklin Warner to give frontline workers about $500 each for two months would have cost about $1 million and failed to gain traction.
Despite her disappointment, Warner said it was important to have the conversation because protecting those who protect the community must be top of mind.
“At the end of the day, the first step was still taken,” she said.
Consideration of hazard pay for frontline workers is growing in metro Atlanta and nationally as coronavirus has taken a toll on the nation. While most Americans are practicing social distancing, healthcare workers, public safety officials and social service staff cannot because their jobs often require one-on-one contact.
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms last month approved paying employees still required to report to work $500 a month during the coronavirus crisis, while DeKalb frontline staff will get time-and-a-half plus four extra hours of comp time for every eight hours worked. Nationally, Senate Democrats are considering a proposal to pay frontline workers and those in the service industry $25,000 in what they have dubbed "heroes" pay.
Henry leaders said the estimated $800,000 will come from the county’s fund balance. In addition to EMTs and firefighters, the county plans to also include a $1.50 an hour pay boost for county clerks, human resources workers and others who are not teleworking.
The pay is retroactive to March 21 and extends to April 21, when the county plans to lift its shelter in place legislation.
“This is an emergency, one-time expense,” County Manager Cheri Hobson-Matthews said during the Tuesday teleconferenced commission meeting.
Warner, who is considering adding her proposal as a regular agenda item at the next meeting, acknowledged the sticker shock of spending $1 million on hazard pay, but said the county can find the money if it wants to. She said paying those on the front lines extra during the pandemic was one of the top requests of Clayton residents during a virtual town had she hosted recently.
“I think we need to look a little deeper and to prioritize,” she said of finding money in the budget. “We can make it happen.”
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