Memphis City Council approves 2 percent pay raise for police, fire; 1 percent for others

June 23--Creating an uproar among many who came to Memphis City Hall, the City Council approved Tuesday a 2015-16 budget of $658 million that includes a 2 percent pay increase for police and fire employees and a 1 percent increase for others.

The council's 9-4 vote for the increases, which start Jan. 1, disappointed and angered a crowd made up largely of current and former city employees and their families. Many of them hoped to get larger increases through the procedure to resolve contract impasses between unions and the city -- and hoped to restore health insurance subsidies for retirees younger than 65.

Council members Reid Hedgepeth, Myron Lowery, Jim Strickland, Wanda Halbert, Edmund Ford Jr., Berlin Boyd, Bill Morrison, Alan Crone and Kemp Conrad voted for the budget and pay increases. Bill Boyd, Joe Brown, Janis Fullilove and Harold Collins voted 'no'.

The council also approved a property tax rate of $3.40 per $100 of assessed value -- unchanged from last year.

The council cast the budget vote after hearing from city Chief Administrative Officer Jack Sammons, who said that the $3.1 million to fund the pay increases could be pulled from money set apart for positions that are approved, but not expected to be filled, in the budget year.

"I mentioned at the beginning of the year it was time to start looking for ways to give employees an increase and I am pleased that council has agreed and staff was able to identify the funds in a way that will have minimal impact," said Wharton, though his initial budget proposal did not include pay increases and whose administration has publicly advocated against them.

Finance Director Brian Collins had previously told council members that savings from unfilled positions were already incorporated in the budget. But Tuesday, he said a small amount of those savings act like reserves that the city can draw on as needed for other divisions or to "feed the beast" that is the city's ongoing pension and other post-employment benefit obligations.

"There's always some slack in the budget," he said. "What we did was tighten it."

A week ago, Hedgepeth proposed the original motion to give a 2 percent pay increase just to police and fire employees. That motion was amended without objection Tuesday by Ford to include the increase for other employees.

Before the vote on that proposal, another amendment proposed by Crone seemed headed for a vote -- until Mike Williams, president of the Memphis Police Association, told Crone he was withdrawing his support for it. Crone then withdrew his motion, which would have made the increases for police and non-public safety employees start July 1, 2015 instead of Jan. 1, 2016. His amendment also would have reduce the increase for fire employees to the 1 percent bump in June 2016 that it proposed as part of the impasse procedure.

Crone said the Memphis Fire Fighters Association told him they were willing to give up the extra increase to make funding increases for other employees easier.

Williams said after the vote that he couldn't bring himself to support a proposal that, in his opinion, violated unions' rights under the city's impasse ordinance. MPA proposed, and received preliminary approval for in committee earlier this year, a 3 percent pay increase effective in July.

Union leaders, including Williams, argued Tuesday that the ordinance requires the council to choose between the contracts proposed by the city and unions. But council attorney Allan Wade told council members that their authority to set the budget trumps that provision of the ordinance.

Williams said MPA leaders would discuss their response to the vote and consult with attorneys.

"We're going to exercise every option that's available to us," he said.

The council still voted on the contracts proposed by the remaining unions, as required, and rejected all of those except for treatment plant employees. The council at a previous meeting approved contracts proposed by the unions representing fire, police dispatcher and animal shelter employees.

In addition to the increases, the operating and capital budgets approved Tuesday included $46.5 million for the pension fund, up from about $44 million the previous year; $15 million for street paving; and about $9 million to recruit new police officers, fire fighters and Public Safety Technicians.

Tempers were high after the budget vote, with several citizens saying they'll work against council members in the Oct. 8 election. One woman confronted Wharton during a recess and told him to "rot in hell.".

@kyleveazey This is America. While one may disagree with the lady, I will fight for her right to say it!

-- A C Wharton, Jr (@MayorACWharton) June 23, 2015

-- Local government reporter Ryan Poe. InforMemphis team leader Kyle Veazey contributed to this story.

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Previous updates from Tuesday's live coverage:

3:18 p.m.: The council adjourned shortly before 3 p.m.

-- Kyle Veazey

2:29 p.m.: The City Council has plowed through the impasse proceedings, most notably -- and as noted earlier -- turning down the Memphis Police Association's request.

The council is finishing up its business with a handful of other items on its agenda.

-- Kyle Veazey

1:08 p.m.: The City Council, in an 8-5 vote, vetoed the Memphis Police Association's pay increase through the impasse process.

-- Kyle Veazey

1:02 p.m.: Impasse deliberations continue, but the Memphis Fire Fighters Association just tweeted this in reference to the earlier vote on pre-65 retirees.

After today's vote, Memphis Firefighters will be forced to work until age 65 when they become Medicare eligible.

-- Memphis Firefighters (@mffa1784) June 23, 2015

Noon: Despite some confusion on the dais about what votes would mean to the previously passed budget, the City Council is still going forward with its impasse veto procedure. There are five veto considerations on the agenda.

Chairman Myron Lowery reiterated the council attorney's opinion that the authority to set a budget trumps the impasse procedure.

-- Kyle Veazey

11:24 a.m.: Amid a smattering of questions by other council members, Berlin Boyd has agreed to pause his request for a moratorium on Pinch District development.

Boyd said he will bring it back up at the next City Council meeting. He declined to identify who was specifically asking for this moratorium, which he described today as a 120-day moratorium.

-- Kyle Veazey

11:22 a.m.: Council member Jim Strickland and police union leader Mike Williams are both running for mayor:

Councilman Crone worked out deal with police union for 2% raise for full year which I supported. @ last minute Mike Williams rejected it.

-- Strickland for Mayor (@stricklandmayor) June 23, 2015

10:54 a.m.: The city's property tax rate -- $3.40 on $100 of assessed value -- is approved unanimously. It's the same as last year.

-- Kyle Veazey

10:36 a.m.: The city's capital improvement budget just passed.

-- Kyle Veazey

10:05 a.m.: Memphis Police Association president Mike Williams urged the council to abide by the original impasse process. He accused the council of reverting back to 1978, when a police and fire strike crippled the city. "It's almost like slavery," Williams said. He clarified that he didn't mean "black or white," but "economic slavery."

-- Kyle Veazey

9:55 a.m.: Alan Crone made an amendment offer that would have given raises to police and non-public safety employees starting July 1 (and revert back to the original impasse decision for fire), and the council debated that for a while. But after a sidebar with union leaders, Crone withdrew his motion, saying the police union no longer consents to it.

The Hedgepeth/Ford motion, as stated below, remains on the table.

-- Kyle Veazey

9:24 a.m.: Janis Fullilove's motion to include subsidies for pre-65 retirees fails, 8-4. Fullilove, Joe Brown, Harold Collins and Wanda Halbert were the 'yes' votes.

-- Kyle Veazey

9:19 a.m.: From the dais, council member Harold Collins tweets:

It seems to me but I could be wrong but it looks like there was a meeting prior to the one I am attending.

-- Harold Collins (@HaroldBCollins) June 23, 2015

9:03 a.m.: A Joe Brown-sponsored amendment to give 2 percent pay increases across the board fails, 9-4. Brown, Alan Crone, Harold Collins and Janis Fullilove were the 'yes' votes.

The Hedgepeth motion, as amended by Ford and described below, remains on the floor.

-- Kyle Veazey

8:46 a.m.: Edmund Ford Jr.'s amendment, accepted as a friendly amendment to Reid Hedgepeth's carryover amendment, would give a 1 percent pay increase to non-public safety employees. Hedgepeth's calls for 2 percent for public safety employees.

-- Kyle Veazey

8:16 a.m.: A handful of audience members are gathering in the first-floor council chamber at City Hall in anticipation of today's meeting. Council chairman Myron Lowery, who has missed recent meetings while battling a health issue, entered the chamber moments ago and has taken his seat. He was the first council member to arrive to the dais.

-- Kyle Veazey

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