VIDALIA — Town of Vidalia employees received incentive payments in late November to the tune of $111,700.

Vidalia Mayor Buz Craft said employees received $650 packages and department heads received $1,500 incentives.

“A month ago, I didn’t think we could do it,” Craft said. “But with the new revenues from the hydroelectric plant and also the savings and cost controls we have in place, we feel like we have really turned a corner.”

Craft said the previous administration set a budget including the incentive payments and employees had told him they were counting on receiving the money.

“I felt like it would be good for morale and also to thank them for a job well done,” he said. “We were able to find a way to extend to the employees this incentive payment.”

When Craft took over in July, he said the previous administration had passed a budget that appeared to be in the black, but holes existed including where vendors were not being paid and accounts existed where the reserves were not funded up to town ordinance standards.

“If everyone had been paid and the money was where it was supposed to be, we would have been severely in the red,” Craft said.

Of a $3.5 million line of credit the town took out to cover costs, Craft said the city has used $2 million of it — $1.5 million to pay vendors and the other $500,000 to bring funds up to statute requirements.

Since then, Craft said funds like the Sidney A. Murray Jr. Hydroelectric Station — at $4.631 million — and sales tax — at more than $500,000 — have exceeded expectations. The town has also made major cuts in staffing, resulting in approximately $900,000 in salary and benefits savings.

Craft said in July, the hydroelectric reserve fund was at approximately $1.5 million.

If the future goes as anticipated, Craft said the town would not use any more funds from the line of credit, and he expected to have most of it paid off by March. He said the town may have to extend the term for a short period of time before fully paying it off.

“Right now, the town is looking real good,” Craft said.

Craft said depending on whether he was legally allowed to do so, he intends to either give his $1,500 incentive back to the town or donate it to charity.