The Pike County Fiscal Court took action this week to reduce its payroll by more than $1 million amid current and projected financial hardships fueled in part by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

At Tuesday’s meeting of the Pike Fiscal Court, the county’s governing body unanimously approved laying off 28 employees from numerous county departments. The action by the court reduces the county’s payroll by $1.4 million, Pike Judge-Executive Ray S. Jones II said.

Jones said the county is projecting budget shortfalls due to the ongoing pandemic and a projected continued decrease in coal severance funding. He also said financial hardships inherited by his administration was also a factor in the decision, and he added that the layoffs will affect the county’s operations.

“As we’ve discussed, this is going to significantly impair our ability to take care of our roads, to pick up trash and administer county government services,” Jones said.

Jones said the decision to lay off the affected employees made Tuesday his most difficult day in office, other than the day of the death of Danny Taylor, an employee killed in an accident while Taylor worked on a piece of heavy equipment. Pike County commissioners Ronnie Robertson, Jason Tackett and Brian Booth all said the cuts were made in order to keep the county solvent. They said the decision was difficult for them to make.

Jones said he anticipates more “very painful decisions” will have to be made in the future if the COVID-19 pandemic continues for a long period of time.

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