Government budget votes are cast

The county of Oconee and the city of Walhalla are on their way to new budgets for the new government year starting July 1.  But amendments to those measures were the order of last evening, at both city hall and county council’s meeting chambers.  The county council chose to lower a 3% cost of living raise for employees to 2% and roll money involved to a council line item pending more study on additional raises for some.  District Four’s Julian Davis was opposed, voting against the amendment and against the budget as amended on second reading.  At Walhalla, first-term Councilman Grant Keehn moved to grant the city’s 71 workers a $3 thousand pay raise, but his motion failed in a vote of 3 in favor, 4 against.  The result left Keehn wondering aloud if city workers will become disconsolate.  The Walhalla council debated at length deleting two additional positions in the utilities department in favor of creating a city hall position for water billing/assistant city clerk.  On the vote of the new budget, amended, the measure passed 5-2, with Keehn and Tyler Jordan voting no.