UPDATE, 11:30 p.m.:
Mayor Robert Reichert sent out an email to county employees weeks ago saying he was vetoing a one-time $1,000 bonus, which passed through the commission Tuesday night.
Garin Flanders, member of the Macon-Bibb Firefighters Association, says in 18 months, 57 firefighters resigned. He says employees need to know the county is ready to invest in them.
"You had a statement in there that said, 'This will cause distrust in the process.' The distrust is already there," said Flanders.
He wasn't the only Bibb County employee asking commissioners to support commissioner Joe Allen's proposal to overthrow the mayor's veto.
"It's a good faith gesture to say, 'We recognize there's a problem,' and, 'Stick with us,'" said Flanders.
Mayor Reichert defended his veto, saying the $2.3 million they estimate it would cost for the bonuses would be better spent. He says it would cost $160,000 for a pay scale and $4 million to $5 million to implement those changes.
Commissioner Scotty Shepherd said over the phone, he voted in favor of the mayor. The other 8 commissioners voted to overthrow the veto, which means come December 20th, Flanders and other Bibb County employees will get that bonus.
"Will the $1,000 keep somebody who is planning on leaving? It won't, but the ones who are on the fence, maybe it will deter them from leaving, maybe the ones who are just disgruntled or upset or have their morale knocked down, maybe it will boost them up," said Flanders.
County commissioners say they set aside $5 million in their 2020 budget to pad their general fund and they expect they could pull the money for the bonuses from those savings.
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Macon-Bibb County employees can expect a bonus this year.
Tuesday night, Macon-Bibb commissioners voted to override the Mayor Robert Reichert's July 24th veto of a one-time $1,000 bonus for county employees.
Commissioners voted 8-1 to overturn the veto. Commissioner Scotty Shepherd was the only commissioner to vote “No.”
We’ll have more on this story tonight on 13WMAZ news at 11.