Late last year, the Cullman County Commission approved a one-time, non-recurring pay bump, funded through the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), as a temporary premium pay (TPP) raise for county employees who worked through the COVID-19 pandemic. This week, the commission agreed to extend the same one-time pay increase again.

At its regular meeting Tuesday, the commission approved an extension of the ARPA-funded TPP pay increase to cover two additional pay periods. So long as employees worked on site at their jobs (rather than from home) and so long as they earn less than the approximate $72,000 salary threshold, all county employees, both hourly and salaried, will be covered by the increase.

Full time employees will see a total of as much as $1,000 in additional pay via the TPP pay bump, while part-time employees will receive up to $500. The TPP increase isn’t permanent and reflects a higher rate of pay over only two pay periods, effectively likening it to a one-time bonus — though by law, the ARPA funds cannot be disbursed as supplemental pay and must be pegged to actual time spent on the job.

Last year’s TPP increase covered three pay periods and extended up to $3,000 in additional wages; the TPP plan the commission approved this week will cover two pay periods. Employees should receive the temporary raise beginning with the pay period that begins Oct. 22. No elected officials are eligible to receive any additional pay through the TPP plan the commission approved on Tuesday.

In other business at its regular meeting, the commission:

• Recognized Sales Tax department employee Vicky Fisher as the incoming president of the County Revenue Officers Association of Alabama (CROAA), an affiliate group of the Association of County Commissions of Alabama, which covers participating county revenue offices throughout the entire state.
• Proclaimed the week of Oct. 17-23 as Pilot International Founders Week, recognizing the Cullman Pilot Club for remaining active in, and enriching, the local community for more than 40 years.
• Approved a per diem compensation Increase of an additional $5 per day for each of the three members who staff the Cullman County Board of Registrars. Neither county nor state employees, Board of Registrars staff receive $80 per day from the state along with an additional $27 (after Tuesday’s per diem increase) from Cullman County, and receive no state or county employment benefits. The increase applies only to the maximum 199 days per year for which Board of Registrars members are eligible to receive compensation.
• Ratified a non-education ad valorem tax abatement for The Shaddix Company, Inc., in the amount of $484,695, to expedite a capital investment project in the Vinemont area.
• Changed the speed limit along a portion of County Road 807 to 25 mph.
• Reappointed Ron Hogue to the Cullman County Library Board of Trustees for a four-year term.
• Reappointed county parks director Doug Davenport to the North Alabama Tourism Association for a two-year term.
• Proclaimed October Domestic Violence Awareness Month in Cullman County.
• Approved the county’s recurring annual Title III Aging contract and SenioRx with the North Central Alabama Regional Council of Governments (NARCOG).
• Approved an end-of-lease purchase of a loader for the road department from Warrior Tractor, in the amount of $137,153.
• Approved the purchase of a mini track-mounted excavator for the road department via state bid, in the amount of $49,846. The purchase will be made from the county’s General Fund account rather than its road fund, noted county administrator John Bullard.
• Approved the purchase of a front end loader for the sanitation department via the Sourcewell cooperative purchasing program, in the amount of $344,007.
• Approved an annual subscription agreement for the use of GIS mapping software for the Revenue Office, in the amount of $55,000.
• Approved the surplus of a 1999 Ford truck and a 2006 Chevrolet truck from the sanitation department, each to be auctioned at GovDeals.com.
• Approved the surplus of a 2008 Ford Expedition from the safety office to be auctioned at GovDeals.com.
• Approved the surplus of a 2006 Ford truck from courthouse use to be auctioned at GovDeals.com.
• Approved the surplus of seven noncommercial trucks from the road department, to be auctioned at GovDeals.com.
• Approved a reimbursement of $67,404 to the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office for the purchase of two Ford trucks via state bid.
• Awarded an ongoing bid for motor and hydraulic oils to The McPherson Companies, Inc.; and an ongoing bid for transmission fluid and grease to W.H. Thomas Oil Company, Inc.
• Awarded an ongoing bid for emulsified asphalt to Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions.

The next regular commission meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 16 in the commission meeting room of the Cullman County Courthouse. A 4 p.m. public work session will precede the meeting at the same location.