Jefferson County Commission President Jimmie Stephens routinely concludes meetings of that body by saying they are “recessed until further notice.”

Notice came quickly today as the panel immediately reconvened to make official its actions relative to the 2024-2025 budget, which now includes a 3.5% raise for county employees but does not include an extra variable off day the commission had discussed Tuesday.

As the meeting wound down, County Attorney Theo Lawson called Finance Committee Chairman Joe Knight to the end of the dais to discuss the resolutions that had just passed. But when Stephens ended the meeting, Lawson quickly stepped in to make sure everything had been done correctly.

“They had not amended the two items to reflect the change,” Lawson said. “That needed to be done. You couldn’t just say we’re going to change it and not identify which items needed to be changed.”

Commissioner Lashunda Scales initially moved and Commissioner Mike Bolin seconded amendments to Resolutions 55 and 59, which authorized and adjusted the salaries and the holiday schedule for fiscal 2024-2025. Scales ultimately withdrew that motion and made separate motions to be sure each matter was handled appropriately.

“I’m glad we got that right,” Scales mused before the session was again recessed.

The post meeting actions changed resolutions that were sent to the agenda during the commission’s committee meetings on Tuesday. In that gathering, commissioners voted 3-0-2 to include in the budget a 3% raise and a second variable day off for employees.

Knight, Scales and Commissioner Sheila Tyson voted in favor of the action on Tuesday with Stephens and Bolin abstaining. Tyson was absent Thursday and Knight feared he might not be able to give employees the “thank you” that he wanted.

“I knew there was some consternation about the extra holiday,” Knight said. “I was trying to do something for our employees, based on my past year as president of the Association of County Commissions of Alabama. Our total focus has been on workforce, what you can do to recruit and what you can do to retain. So many times, we take our employees for granted.”

Knight said the budget with the additional variable day off would have failed for lack of a majority and employees “would have gotten absolutely nothing except the 3%. That’s why I made the change.

“Let’s do the 3½%,” he said. “That gives them (employees) some reward. It’s not a huge amount but it is something.”

The budget approved Thursday includes $32 million in projects to be done by Roads and Transportation. County funds will be supplemented by more than $62 million from the Alabama Department of Transportation, federal grants and the Metropolitan Planning Organization and more than $2.7 million from local municipalities.