Budget frustrations surface as city council takes closer look at new job positions

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette

Wednesday, July 25, 2012 — With their frustration over last months’ budget process fresh in their minds, the Bardstown City Council moved Tuesday to table the city’s job classification and compensation plans in order to take a closer look at new jobs it will create.

Councilman Fred Hagan explains why the council should take the time to justify the need for additional employee positions as funded by the budget the council approved last month. Click to enlarge.

The nearly hour-long discussion focused on the changes to the plans, which included revising job descriptions and adding new ones for new positions that were funded in this fiscal year’s budget. During the budget approval process, several council members expressed frustration over not having enough time to question parts of the budget prior to its approval.

Tuesday night, that frustration bubbled to the surface.

The classification plan is updated once a year, Larry Green, assistant city administrator, told the council at the start of the discussions. “Some of these changes are housekeeping,” he said. Some job descriptions were eliminated or rewritten to match the actual job responsibilities, he said.

Councilman Fred Hagan asked if the classification plan sets the job descriptions, shouldn’t the plan be updated before someone is hired for a new position. “Are we approving something that’s already happened that we should have approved before it happened?”

Green said the changes in job descriptions are held and combined into a single ordinance rather than when changes in job classifications take place during the year. If the ordinance was changed each time a job description was changed it would create more numerous revisions would need to approve throughout the year.

Bardstown Mayor Bill Sheckles listens to the council discuss the job classification and compensation ordinance. The council members agreed to table the ordinance to allow time to hear justification for the additional employees the 2012-13 budget funds. Click to enlarge.

As chair of the water and sewer committee, Hagan told the mayor he was familiar with job classification changes in those departments, but he knew nothing about the need for changes in other departments at city hall.

“I would love to see those reviewed by the appropriate committees to research the need for those before we vote on it,” he said. “I would like to see us backup and do that research –”

Hagan was interrupted by Councilman Tommy Reed who told him, “When you voted on the budget, you created the position.”

Hagan disagreed with Reed, stating his view the classification plan creates the position.

When Reed disagreed, Hagan asked Green if the classification plan was necessary to hire someone to fill a new position.

“We’ve already approved the position,” Mayor Sheckles injected. “We’re just giving a description of it. We approved it when we approved the budget.”

“If we don’t put it in (the classification plan) can the city hire a person?” Hagan asked Green again.

“Probably shouldn’t,” Green said. “If the council doesn’t approve the position then … that’s a legal question. But this is what we go by.”

Councilman Bobby Simpson gestures while discussing the need to have committees meet to discuss the new positions added to the city’s job classification and compensation ordinance. Click image to enlarge.

Sheckles again stated his belief that the council’s approval of the budget equated to approval of the positions it funds.

“The budget approves an amount of money,” Hagan said. “It’s a number, its an amount of money, but the budget doesn’t contain the wording to hire a person.”

Hagan said he voted for the current year’s budget even though he disagreed with parts of it. “Now the particulars of it come out, and I think we have the option to not approve a position,” he said.

Green told the council that if it did away with a position in the classification plan, it would mean the city couldn’t hire a person to fill that position.

“Why would you not approve a position you voted to approve in the budget?” Sheckles asked.

The budget and the job classification are separte issues, Hagan told the mayor. “I’m just trying to get the council to have some input on these things,” Hagan said.

He suggested the council’s committees meet and see what’s needed. “Go out there and put your hands on it, understand it and bring that information back to us,” he said.

Sheckles said it sounded like Hagan was saying the other council members have not been “involved enough or know enough that they can vote intelligently on these positions.”

“I didn’t say that,” Hagan shot back. “You’re putting words in my mouth.” Hagan explained it was just a matter of the council getting involved to determine the need for the new positions.

A question by Councilman Reed about the city’s hiring of former police chief C.D. Marksbury as a part-time evidence room technician revealed that there was no classification for that position.

Reed said he didn’t believe the mayor could create a job without some existing classification. “I don’t disagree there was a need there, jsut that proper procedure wasn’t followed,” he said.

Sheckles said he hired Marksbury to clean up the evidence room. “It was a temporary part-time position to see if it was going to work out,” Sheckles said. “Every position in this classification program is authorized in the budget. You all approved it,” Sheckles said. “My question is if you want to vote on this now or have a bunch of committee meetings? If you don’t have a problem with it, the I recommend you go ahead and approve these positions.”

Councilman Bobby Simpson voted against the current budget, and he agreed the council should know more about the positions before approving the budget. Simpson, Reed, Hagan and Councilmen Roland Williams and Joe Buckman agreed the classification plan should be tabled to allow the council a chance to review the need for the new positions.

Sheckles asked the council members to schedule meetings promptly so the council can take action on the ordinance in the near future.

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