City salaries get preliminary OK
By Kitty Conley kconley@post-trib.com September 11, 2012 3:08PM
Updated: September 11, 2012 3:08PM
CROWN POINT — Next year there will be no pay raises for city employees.
Employees have gotten raises or stimulus stipends in recent years. In 2009 there was an across the board 3 percent raise for employees and elected officials. In 2010 and 2011 employees received a stipend. In 2012 the employees did get a 2 percent raise.
For 2013, the City Council is looking at a stipend for employees only. On Sept. 4, the council unanimously passed the first reading of salary ordinances for both the city’s employees and elected officials.
At the Aug. 29 budget hearing, Councilman Bill Feder, D-at large, objected to stipends — he thought that the council should get one also. So did Councilman Bob Clemons, R-2nd.
Clerk-Treasurer Patti Olson said, “If elected officials get a stipend then employees sure as heck should get it.”
Mayor Dave Uran said, “If the stipend is granted it is equivalent to a 2 percent pay raise.”
Uran said that a stipend is dependant on the State Board of Accounts approving the budget. The maximum stipend would be $1,000. The amount approved by the state would be divided equally among full-time employees.
Feder also expressed concern about the cost to the city of the increase of insurance payments for employees, and longevity pay based on the number of years of service, which adds a small amount to each employees pay. The bonus for an employee with three years of service is $220 per year. The largest amount is $460 and is for full-time employees with 12 or more years of service.
There will be some looking closely at the salary ordinance since the city engineer does get paid more than either the clerk-treasurer or mayor. Unlike other employees where salary is listed as a range, allowing the mayor or department head to give individual earned raises with in that range of possible salary, the city engineer’s pay is listed as just one amount paid by four different departments.
The city Engineer is being paid $88,740.08. The mayor is paid $74,560.72; the clerk-treasurer is paid $73,055.84.
