The Pike County Fiscal Court took action this week to cut down on its payroll by more than $1 million amid financial hardships both present and future due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic. After Tuesday night’s meeting of the Pike County Fiscal Court, the unanimous decision was made to approve the laying off of a total of 28 employees from various county departments. The reduction in staff reduces the county’s payroll by around $1.4 million said Pike County Judge Executive Ray S. Jones II. Jones added that these layoffs would most likely affect the county’s operations, stating:

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