City employees will see pay increase next year

Aug. 02--City of Washington employees will see an increase in pay for next year. Mayor Joe Wellman said during the annual budget workshop Monday evening he was proposing a 55 cent per hour raise for most hourly employees and department heads will see a $1,400 increase.

"I said 55 cents an hour, but I am tweaking some of those to try and narrow the gaps," he said. "Why does the number two person in the electric, water and wastewater departments all make a different amount? I don't know, but we are trying to change that."

Wellman said a salary ordinance will be presented to the council during the Aug. 14 meeting.

Council members learned the city's fixed cost for insurance for its employees increased by 6 percent and claims were also up by 3 percent.

Marilyn McCullough, the city's agent through Thompson Insurance, told the council she had a concern about the premiums.

"The city has absorbed all the increases and not passed much on to the employee," said McCullough, adding the city renewed its plan with the same insurance carrier. "September of 2013 was the last time the employees saw an increase."

The city, McCullough said, has an account set up to pay for insurance claims but over the years, that account is starting to decrease.

"The account is not that low, but you may need to start thinking about increasing the employee premium," she said, adding dependent coverage increased by 10 percent.

One solution McCullough offered was to make a more robust wellness plan for city employees that could offer age-appropriate screenings, in addition to the yearly blood draw and attending the annual wellness fair.

"Wellness programs do work," said McCullough, citing offering colonoscopies every five years for those over the age of 50 as an example. "They do help keep claims down. If we can find things before they are diagnosed, it saves the city money."

Even though claims were up slightly, McCullough said city employees have been choosing generics over name-brand medications and the flu shot clinics have been well attended.

Another option she suggested was starting a health savings account for employees.

"These can be a tax deduction for the employee and they also can help keep claims down," McCullough said.

Sidewalk replacements

Bryan Sergesketter, the city's building commissioner, code enforcement officer and county plan director, told the council the sidewalk replacement cost share program has been well received he planned to include $65,000 to keep the project rolling next year. Wellman asked if that would be enough to keep with the demand.

"Is $65,000 enough for sidewalks?" he asked.

Sergesketter said while he knows Washington doesn't like to be compared to Jasper, a similar program in Jasper has also seen much success. Jasper now budgets over $100,000 for its sidewalk program.

City hall upgrades

Washington Police Chief Todd Church, who is also charged with the budget for city hall, said next year, they hope to upgrade the building's camera system.

"It's pretty much dead," he said, adding all the cameras would be replaced and additional cameras would be added to the basement and exterior. "It's not cheap, $36,950, but it's easily upgradable and we could keep the footage longer."

As for the police department's budget, Church said in the new year, tasers will start to be replaced.

Tasers, he said, are only good for five years. The department will also purchase seven used rifles.

"We want everyone to have a rifle," said Church. "Years ago, everyone had shotguns. Now it's rifles," he said, adding the rifles the department will be purchasing are a couple of years old. "Once we get these, everyone will have a rifle."

Washington's City Council and Board of Public Works and Safety will meet for their regularly slated meetings on Aug. 14.

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