The Leflore County Board of Supervisors is giving each county employee a one-time allotment of $500 in hazard pay for efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The board met in closed session during its regular Monday meeting to discuss the matter.
After the session, the board voted 4-1 to provide the $500 payments to all of the county’s approximately 200 employees.
The motion to provide the extra pay was made by District 2 Supervisor Reginald Moore and all voted in the affirmative except District 1 Supervisor Sam Abraham, who dissented.
Abraham said after the session that he believes the action is unfair to all of those citizens who are not employed by the county but still have had to go to work. Abraham noted that across the county “everyone is facing the same situation” and still continuing to work in their respective jobs.
According to Moore, the hazard pay will come from COVID-19 relief funds the county has received. He said county employees have been facing the virus on the frontlines non-stop since the start of the pandemic.
“Being that we have been dealing with this for the better part of a year, I feel this is the right thing to do,” Moore said.
Moore also added that as the particularly hard year comes to a close, it seemed like an appropriate time to implement the extra pay.
“It is a hard time economically, and this being the holiday season, I feel there is no better time than the present to do this,” he said.
In other business, the board donated $2,500 to Operation Peace Treaty.
Sandra Chase, the vice president of Operation Peace Treaty — a nonprofit created earlier this year to address gun violence in the county — spoke to the board about events that the organization is planning to host next year.
Some of the events Chase mentioned are still in the early planning phases. These include a video-game tournament, a talent show, a competitive sporting event and bike ride with 5K and 10K races. “Let’s not bring 2021 in without a plan for our community,” Chase said.
Chase said along with helping the area come together and try to stop gun violence, these events will also show that citizens and local law enforcement can work together. Organizers hope this can create a better communication network between the two.
Along with the plans for the next year, Chase said the group is organizing a toy drive for Christmas Eve later this month.
After Chase spoke, District 3 Supervisor Anjuan Brown pitched in $500 from his allotted budget for advertisement of county resources. Then, Abraham also pitched in the same amount from his budget, followed by Moore, District 4’s Eric Mitchell and District 5’s Robert Collins.
In other business, Circuit Judge Margaret Carey-McCray approached the board to request funds to purchase equipment for the circuit courtrooms.
McCray said the equipment, which is primarily technology and audio supplies, relates to added procedures implemented because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The supplies are meant to help smooth technical difficulties for those appearing in court via Zoom, the online video chat service.
The board approved unanimously for the courts to move forward with the updates.
• Contact Adam Bakst at 581-7233 or abakst@gwcommonwealth.com.
