By Josh Bergeron

The Selma Times-Journal

Dallas County’s 220 employees may be a bit happier during the holiday season.

Full-time county employees will receive a $600 Christmas bonus and part-time employees will receive a $200 bonus, the Dallas County Commission announced Monday during their regularly scheduled meeting. This is the second-straight year county employees have received a bonus.

Dallas County Probate Judge Kim Ballard said the bonus is equivalent to a 2 to 3 percent raise. The commission considered a raise, but decided on a bonus after conducting an informal poll of employees.

“It was unanimous, everyone preferred a bonus,” Ballard said. “A raise would only equal a few extra dollars each paycheck.”

The bonus comes after the commission approved a $22.8 million budget for the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.

“There are lots of counties that are considered more affluent, but would kill to be in our position.” Ballard said. “We have a balanced budget and are nowhere close to being in the red. We have nearly zero debt.”

The 2013-2014 budget is approximately $3 million greater than the commission’s 2012-2013 budget. The increase was caused by increases in revenue from ad valorem tax and sales tax, county administrator Barbara Harrell said.

The increase in tax revenue may also be a positive sign for the Dallas County economy.

Commissioner Larry Nickels said increased sales tax revenue usually means residents are spending more.

“I think this all means that more people are buying things,” Nickels said. “The economy could be picking back up.”

The 2013-2014 budget also includes part of an $8 million grant to repair and pave roads in Dallas County. The work will be spread out over 10 years and fix 30 miles of roads in the county.

Commissioners also talked about the results of a recent state audit.

“I am proud to say that we had absolutely zero findings in the audit,” Ballard said. “We were also the first out of 67 counties in the state to be ready under the new standards.”