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4A I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com
Wednesday, February 15,2023
County workers to get perks at work anniversaries
DCN file photo
By Julia Hansen
jhansen@dawsonnews.com
Local government
employees will now see
more kinds of compensa
tion sooner after Dawson
County’s Board of
Commissioners voted
unanimously to approve a
trio of measures on Feb. 2.
Now, employees will see
their job evaluations and
chances for merit and paid-
time-off increases coincide
with their work anniversa
ries.
During the board’s work
session, Chief Financial
Officer and Interim County
Manager Vickie Neikirk
reiterated that payouts of
employee increases had
been approved contingent
on 2022 job evaluations.
Those merit increases
were dispersed on Jan. 7,
2023, Neikirk said.
Neikirk asked the board
how they would like to
time merit or longevity
increases, employee evalu
ations and any PTO awards
in 2023, since in 2024,
those items would be
moved to workers’ anniver
sary dates with the county.
Human Resources
Director Kristi Finley
explained that Dawson
County’s handbook only
requires either PTO or
merit increases for employ
ees, not necessarily both,
which Neikirk said was
also her understanding
when the board voted on
the merit measure.
District 2 Commissioner
Chris Gaines and BOC
Chairman Billy Thurmond
voiced their support of hav-
ing employees’ PTO
awards fall on their anni
versary dates this year and
having both evaluations
and any PTO or merit
awards coincide with their
hire dates in 2024.
The board also discussed
whether employees who
hadn’t gotten the January
2023 increases would be
eligible for evaluations and
merit bumps when they hit
their 12-month anniversa
ries.
Finley pointed out that
about 74 employees would
mark their one-year anni
versaries with the county
during 2023.
Thurmond said employ
ees who reach their year
hire anniversaries in 2023
should go ahead and get
their evaluations, PTO and
merit opportunities since
they didn’t get the January
pay raise.
“I think we should start
that for the people in the
12-month category,”
Thurmond said. “That tells
you how young we are if
we’ve got 74 people that
are going to fall into that
category this year.”
District 4
Commissioner Emory
Dooley explained he did
not consider at least a 1 %
raise and PTO equivalent.
“I don’t know why any
body would pick the two
hours of PTO,” Dooley
said. “I’m fine with it being
both [opportunities].”
With the board members
all eventually voicing that
preference, Neikirk said
PTO balances would need
to be adjusted for everyone.
On a related topic,
Dooley pointed out that
first responders don’t have
the same type of jobs as
other departments, and
their difference in duties
should be reflected on the
evaluations.
“I would like to see us
get a type of evaluation for
each department,” he said.
“It gives us a better picture
of the employee, so it’s
specific to their job.”
Thurmond added that
they “don’t have to reinvent
the wheel” with those types
of evaluations, saying that
ones could be found for
those public safety jobs.
Finley also shared that
her department has access
to good intercounty
resources in that respect
and already has evaluations
for supervisory and non-
supervisory roles.
In other news, Dawson
County is looking for its
next county manager,
according to a posting on
the county’s job openings
webpage.
After the regular meet
ings, the board went into
executive session and
returned to vote on an
amendment to the employ
ee handbook for the county
manager position.
Now, the job won’t be
assigned to a grade, Finley
said to DCN, and the BOC
can set the position’s salary
at their discretion.
DCN will continue to
follow the county’s search
for a permanent county
manager.
FROM 1A
Rotary
said planning director
Sharon Farrell.
Farrell called the award
ee choice a “no contest”
decision.
Tax Commissioner and
Rotary Club of Dawson
County President Nicole
Stewart later added that
when receiving award
picks,
H o n n
was nom
inated by
two dif
fer e n t
county
depart
ments.
H o n n
has worked for Dawson
County since 2011, when
she came out of retirement
to start serving with the
planning department.
“Margaret is a beloved
member of the planning
staff and has been the
front-facing person of the
office for many years,”
Chief Financial Officer and
Interim County Manager
Vickie Neikirk said on Feb.
2, quoting one of Honn’s
colleagues. “[She’s]
always one to help and
[has] an immense amount
of knowledge. Margaret is
truly invaluable.”
Neikirk added the coun
ty often gets compliments
from customers about
Honn’s “great customer
service” and “helpful atti
tude.”
“She not only helps with
issuing business licenses,
but she really helps some
of the new folks coming in
and explains to them
[what’s needed],..she’s
just a wealth of informa
tion,” Farrell added at the
Rotary meeting.
“Everybody loves working
with Margaret.”
Fire & EMS
Dawson County Fire and
Emergency Services rec
ognized firefighter Keith
Mangum as their top
employee. Mangum started
volunteering with DCFES
a decade ago.
“During that time, he
achieved many accom
plishments equal to a
career firefighter,” said
Operations and Training
Division
Chief
Johnny
Irwin.
“He dedi
cated his
time,
which
goes
beyond
the call of measure.”
“Gratefully, he decided
to come to us as a career
firefighter in 2022 and
obtained an instructor cer
tification to be able to pass
on his knowledge to the
future generations of the
fire service,” Irwin added,
“and we’re so proud of
him.”
DCS0
During the Rotary
Club’s
awards,
Dawson
County
Sheriff
Jeff
Johnson
called
employ
ees like
HR and budget manager
Sandra Evans crucial to his
agency’s mission.
“Without our most valu
able resource, our men and
women...we would be
failing,” Johnson said.
“Oftentimes, when you
think about the sheriff’s
office, you think about the
[patrol] cars you see on the
road...but behind the
scenes, there’s a lot going
on as well.”
Evans has served the
agency for 12 years, with
her duties encompassing
much of the office’s day-
to-day administrative mat
ters.
She has also been a key
organizer for DCSO’s
annual “Shop with a Cop”
event, which helps local
children purchase
Christmas presents who
couldn’t otherwise do so.
“All of the business own
ers in here [know] you
always have an office
mom, and that’s what
Sandra is as well,” Johnson
added.
Dawsonville
When talking about the
City of Dawsonville Public
Works employee Steven
McNeal, District 3 city
council
man John
Walden
used
phrases
like
“always
on time,”
“very reli
able” and
“and a great asset to the
team.”
McNeal was hired by the
city in 2018 as a public
works operator, and he
now works as a foreman
within the department.
“One thing I can say
about Steve is he goes
above and beyond the
responsibilities given to
him by the city,” Walden
said.
Whether it’s lending a
hand at the city’s Main
Street Park or “Food Truck
Friday” events, the city
councilman said McNeal
will go the extra mile to
“help citizens first hand.”
“If he doesn’t have the
answer, he’ll go get it,”
Walden added.
Tax Commissioner
For the
elected
officials
category,
Stewart
announced
one of her
offic e ’ s
own
employees
as the award recipient.
Turner came to the
Dawson County Tax
Commissioner’s Office
from Cherokee County,
Honn
Mangum
Evans
McNeal
Turner
We love our community, and we know you do, too. So this February,
though days can be rough and the news can be grim, we’re asking
you to share something you love about Dawson County.
It could be a place, a special moment or certain characteristics of our community —
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'WDawsonCountyNews
DawsonNewscom
Julia Hansen Dawson County News
Planning and Development Director Sharon Farrell, left, watches as Rotary
Club president Nicole Stewart, right, presents employee Margaret Honn
with an award for being Dawson County's top employee of 2022.
bringing a breadth of cialist. way to help any of her fel-
transaction and other insti- “One of my favorite low teammates,” said
tutional knowledge to things about Heather is Stewart, “so I’m very
serve as a tax and tag spe- she always goes out of her thankful for you.”
Dawson
County
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