All town employees will receive 3 percent of their annual salary in a check -- just in time for the holidays.

The money will come from a surplus fund generated from extra property tax revenue, according to Carla Morgan, Fuquay-Varina's finance director. "We actually did better than we expected," Morgan said.

It was a different story five months ago.

When Fuquay-Varina's fiscal budget was finalized in June, it was 7.3 percent less than the year before.

The town was estimated to be $600,000 behind in building and growth-related fees.

And it gave no cost-of-living raises for staff and eliminated five positions -- all of which came from the planning and inspections department.

"The folks who were let go were let go in areas where we really -- at that time -- did not have enough work to keep them busy," said Commissioner Charlie Adcock.

He, along with fellow commissioners Cindy Sheldon, William Harris and Jimmy Johnson voted in favor of the bonus. Commissioner Jeff Wells was absent.

Sheldon said they wanted to compensate their staff after denying them raises, and the one-time bonuses made sense.

"We did not give our staff any increases in pay due to the economy," Sheldon said. "We just didn't know how our revenues were going to come in. ... So we held off."

Adcock said they wouldn't have considered giving the bonuses if they had already given the raises.

"We feel like at this point we would be able to meet our budget while issuing those bonuses," he said.

Rare decision

The decision was an unusual one. Bonuses are rare in other Wake County towns.

"It's not a normal practice," said John Whitson, Morrisville's town manager. "You'll find it across the state in smaller towns but ... big cities don't do that."

Most municipalities give raises and bonuses based on merit, Whitson said.

In Morrisville, for example, town employees receive pay increases based on annual performance ratings.

But the staff didn't get any raises this year.

Morrisville's budget came in 8.5 percent lower than the year before, calling for cuts in some equipment replacement, special events and recreation programs.

No new staff positions had been approved.

"We don't see any additional pay coming for employees this year," Whitson said.

Cary, Apex and Holly Springs also don't give across-the-board raises or bonuses.

"We don't give them," said Bruce Radford, Apex's town manager.

He added: "We do give our longevity pay at Christmas, but it's not really a Christmas bonus."

Longevity pay rewards town veterans by multiplying their pay by the number of years they've worked with the town.

Holly Springs reported the healthiest budget this year. Town staff received a 2 percent cost of living raise and were eligible for a 3 percent merit raise.

Sheldon said she supports the Fuquay bonus because she feels the staff deserves it.

"We're very proud of them," she said. "And they work very hard for the citizens of Fuquay-Varina."

Temporary employees and employees who've been with the town less than two years won't receive the bonus.

Staff writer Jordan Cooke contributed to this report.