Budget approved: Council OKs return to original proposal on employee raises
Bardstown Mayor John Royalty talks with Lt. Brad Gillock and Tracy Hudson, city chief financial officer, prior to the start of Thursday’s special council meeting.
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio
Thursday, June 16, 2016, 11:45 p.m. — The Bardstown City Council changed its mind once again on raises for City of Bardstown employees and decided to give them the pay increases originally requested in the city’s $48 million 2016-17 budget.
The council gave its initial approval of the proposed budget at a special-called meeting — a meeting that was necessary after the council changed its mind at last Tuesday’s meeting about proposed pay raises for city employees.
Tim Butler, city attorney, talks with Mayor John Royalty prior to the start of Thursday’s special council meeting.
Mayor John Royalty’s original budget proposal requested 4 percent raises for employees making less than $20 an hour, and 3 percent raises for those making more than $20 an hour.
At the council’s work session June 7 and again Tuesday, the council considered several different scenarios for the pay raises.
On June 7, the council agreed to lowering the pay increase percentages to 3 percent for those earning more than $20 an hour and 2 percent for those making less. But a week later, the council changed its mind.
After discussing the matter, the council’s consensus was to increase the pay for those making less than $20 hourly, and give the better-paid workers less of a raise, or 4 percent increases for those under making under $20 hourly, and 2 percent for those over that hour wage. The council delayed first reading on the city budget Tuesday in order to consider the 4 percent / 2 percent proposal at Thursday’s special meeting.
After a couple of days to consider the issue, the council backed away from that plan.
Councilman Bill Buckman questioned the fairness of giving higher-paid workers only a 2 percent raise, and recommended the council return to its original 4 percent / 3 percent proposal.
Councilman Bobby Simpson disagreed with giving city employees raises based on a percentage of their existing pay rate, explaining that he felt the percentages were unfair to lower-paid city workers.
Only Councilman Bobby Simpson disagreed, echoing his previous remarks critical of giving raises based on percentages of existing rates of pay.
Simpson suggested giving every city employee the same monetary pay increase regardless of what how much they are paid hourly.
Giving raises based on employees’ existing hourly pay rates isn’t fair to workers on the low end of the wage scale, and it eventually increases the disparity between the top and bottom ends — the higher wage earners increase as a faster rate than those who are paid less, even if the pay increase percentages are different, he said.
While a vote was not necessary on first reading, Royalty asked the council to do so. The budget passed with a “no” vote from Simpson, who said the raise percentages were unfair to lower-paid city employees.
The budget will get a final approval at the council’s June 28 meeting.
CLASSIFICATION & COMPENSATION PLAN. The council gave final approval of changes to the job descriptions and titles for the city fire and police departments. The changes have been pending for some time while awaiting approval from the state retirement system.
The changes make official the police department’s restructuring that includes the addition of four new sergeant positions.
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