The Georgia legislature approved a pay raise for the Tattnall Board of Commissioners on Wednesday, the final day of the 2021 legislative session.
The local legislation, sponsored by Senator Bill Hickman, was introduced by way of Senate Bill 300 and passed thorough the Senate Committee on State and Local Government
(Photo: Georgia Senate)
Operations and the House Committee on Intragovernmental Coordination. Lawmakers generally introduce local legislation at the request of county and city officials after the measure is approved at the local level.
The bill increases the salary of the Tattnall County Board of Commissioners to $650 per month for district commissioners and $950 per month for county commission chairman. The increase is from the current rate of $350 per month for district commissioners and $650 per month for the chairperson.
Each commissioner will also receive a $600 monthly expense supplement, an increase from the current $400 supplement, and the chairperson will receive $700 per month, an increase from $500 per month.
Both increases combined amount to $3,000 more per month in compensation expenses and $36,000 annually. In all, one chairperson and five district commissioners will cost the county $94,800 in compensation and expenses annually.
Senate Bill 300 does not change the provision that allows for a county vehicle for the county commission chair following a majority vote by the commissioners and still prohibits any other form of compensation for commissioners during their tenure.
The bill had one NO vote in the Senate, Senator Greg Dolezal, and was approved 48-1. It passed on the local calendar in a vote of 134-16 in the House on Wednesday.Â
According to the legislation, the last increase in salary for commissioners in Tattnall County was in 2002. That bill was carried by then-Representative Terry Barnard with House Bill 1134. The compensation increase took effect on January 1, 2003.
It now heads to Governor Brian Kemp’s desk for signature before it can take effect. The legislation would take effect on the first month following the approval by Kemp.
You can read the bill below.
