City Council Approves Small Raises for Public Employees in New Budget

The Athens City Council approved a new budget for 2013 and used money available at the end of the year to raise the salaries of city workers and officials, passing several ordinances throughout the holidays.City Council also approved the budget for 2013. Mayor Paul Wiehl said the budget planning commission attributed $12.7 million to the city’s general fund and afforded the city a $33.7 million budget for the year.“We had almost $2 million between increased revenues and carryover,” Wiehl said. “We have been spending some of that down in the past couple of weeks for things that we needed, a wish list so to speak. And again, of course, this changes with every appropriation.”City Council decided to use a portion of the budget surplus to increase the salaries of non-union city workers. Non-union workers are set to receive a 3.5 percent increase in pay scale, affecting about 63 workers. The council also made a benefits package for non-union workers. Rep. Elahu Gosney said the council wanted to recognize the efforts of the non-union city workers at a time when the city had money to spend.“They do not have the power of a union behind them to negotiate a pay raise each time the contract comes up,” Gosney said. “This is a modest increase at a time when the city can afford to pay them what they deserve.”The city council also approved a one percent salary increase for city council members. Councilmember Steve Patterson said the modest increase will not go into effect until 2014, meaning the current members of city council will not see the raise unless re-elected in November.The last time city council had a chance to raise salaries was in 2004, but an ordinance to keep the salaries the same was passed. The ordinance to increase city council members’ salaries was passed after a vote of six to one, with Gosney being the only council member abstaining.City Council also passed ordinances to help raise funds for improving infrastructure. The council called for sidewalk improvements on Grosvenor Street and North Court Street.Lastly, the city council approved a housing fund loan from the state of Ohio. Rep. Chris Knisely said the extra funds will help build new housing and improve current community housing in the city.The council hasn’t met for a few weeks due to the holidays, but will convene on Monday night to start planning for the new year.