Shelby County Mayor to Give Bonus Pay Despite Debt

MEMPHIS, TN (abc24.com) - Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell tells abc24.com the county has debt of $1.6 billion.

"So much was invested in schools and to build buildings, that ramped up the debt pretty high," he said. Reducing that debt was pretty high on Luttrell's list and he says his staff has done that.

Luttrell told abc24.com, "This past year we paid down $50 million on the debt. For the current year we expect to pay down $110 million over two years to knock it down $160 million."

Luttrell claims the county was looking at a $25 million deficit this fiscal year, but instead it "saved about $8.5 million."

As a result county employees will get extra dollars. "We devoted $2.5 million to show appreciation to 6,000 people," Luttrell says. 

According to Luttrell, $6 million of that surplus will go towards paying off debt and into the county's reserve account.