POUGHKEEPSIE – The Dutchess County Legislature has approved the spending of $1.8 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for a one-time bonus to county employees that were deemed essential during the COVID pandemic. Each county worker that meets certain qualifications will receive a $1,000 payment in recognition of their work during the pandemic shutdown.
During last Thursday’s committee meeting, Democrat Barrington Atkins (City of Poughkeepsie) tried to amend the proposal to a one-time payment of $2,000 for each of the more than 1,600 county workers represented by different unions.
According to County Executive Marc Molinaro, if the amendment had passed, the payments would have been delayed in order to re-negotiate with the unions representing the workers. The impacted workers are members of the CSEA, DCDSPBA, DCSEA, or the DCSA. The amendment failed and Atkins took to social media to criticize his Republican colleagues. He implied that the Republican legislators were willing to spend millions of ARPA money on Dutchess Stadium improvements but discounted the work of essential county workers.
After the unanimous approval on Monday, Legislature Chairman Gregg Pulver (R-Pine Plains), lauded the plan. “Our county employees went above and beyond throughout the pandemic. We had to move people around, have them learn new jobs, and respond to a health crisis like no other- all while keeping themselves safe. I am so proud of each and every one of them. This is a token of our gratitude and I am thrilled we are in the financial position to be able to offer them this distribution.”
“When we needed them most, and after many went without, county employees rose to the most challenging occasion of our lifetime. This modest one-time compensation benefit is meant to show our gratitude to those who weathered the storm on behalf of a thankful community,” said Molinaro.
The county will provide the one-time payment to employees that meet the following guidelines:
- Employees who actually worked at least 80 hours for the period of March 27, 2020, through December 31, 2020;
- Are continuously active since March 27, 2020, through December 31, 2020, no separation and return, excluding the voluntary furlough, through to the date of this resolution being adopted by this Legislature.
The resolution includes full-time, part-time, hourly, and per diem county employees, and those who worked during the COVID-19 pandemic and left on good terms but did not receive the early retirement incentive, and also includes unrepresented employees, such as COVID-19 resource assistants, part-time deputies, and part-time corrections officers that are still currently employed by the county.
The payments are expected to be issued to the 1,609 county workers before the end of the year.
