Council Votes To Take Back Raises

With a crowd of some 30 people — consisting of both police officers and concerned citizens — looking on, the Hazlehurst City Council voted not to give Hazlehurst Police Officers the raises they had approved in an April 15 meeting and, instead, work to address the issue through the budget process.
The effect of the decision is to delay giving raises to the understaffed and overworked police officers for at least another eight weeks — until the start of the new fiscal year on July 1.
Ward 2 Commissioner John Ramay read a prepared motion to start the action portion of Tuesday’s meeting, saying there was some “confusion” about the April 15 vote, moving to delay the raises. Ward 1 Commissioner Dywane Johnson quickly seconded the motion. During discussion, Mayor Bayne Stone argued in favor of delaying awarding raises while Ward 4 Commissioner John Bloodworth, who attended the meeting via a telephone call, made an impassioned plea for the council to honor their April 15 decision.
In the end, Ramay’s motion passed 3-2 with Ward 3 Commissioner Diane Leggett joining Bloodworth in opposition.
For a more detailed story on the meeting, see next week’s issue of the Jeff Davis Ledger.