City employees could be the recipients of one-time $600 bonuses, according to Laurinburg's proposed budget.

Laurinburg City Council unanimously approved setting aside the money to give each of the city's 154 employees the bonus. The actions would come with a $92,400 price tag.

The original budget proposal suggested two different bonus amounts, with lesser-paid workers receiving $750 and those with higher salaries receiving $500.

"I think the council wanted to make sure everyone was treated equitably, which I think is exactly right," City Manager Ed Burchins said. "We are very pleased that the mayor and Council took this step to show their appreciation to the employees for the hard work that they do. The council and the mayor recognize that. unfortunately the economic times have been tough and the fact that we were able to pull this together this is due to actions that they took in prior years to get the budget to where it is today."

in other budget matters, Mayor Matthew Block and several members of council expressed concern about city contributions to the Scotland County Humane Society.

The current budget appropriates $80,000 to the nonprofit from city coffers.

"We're paying double," Block said, pointing to the county's payment of $80,000 to the animal shelter.

Mayor Pro Tempore Tommy Parker took issue with Laurinburg paying for services used by other Scotland County towns without them also paying in.

Wagram, Gibson and Maxton currently do not contribute to the Humane Society.

"They're municipalities just like we are," he said. "Why are they excluded?"

Councilman Kenton Spencer agreed.

"I agree that in many issues, we are supplementing other municipalities," he said.

Spencer also expressed concern with the amount of county dollars going to projects such as the Wagram recreation center.

"I think the issue is about parity; it's about equity," Spenser said.

Councilman Curtis Leak disagreed. "$80,000 is a bargain," he said.

While the motion to keep the money in the budget passed unanimously, Spencer paused momentarily before giving a reluctant-sounding "aye," shaking his head as he voiced his vote.

A public hearing on the budget will be held on June 22 at 7 p.m., Burchins said. He expects the council to approve the budget shortly after the hearing.

The council also mentioned revisiting pieces of the budget at it's agenda meeting on Tuesday at 7 p.m.