July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Council gives pay bump to more workers (08/23/07)
Jay County Council
By By TRAVIS MINNEAR-
Pay increases topped discussions Wednesday evening before the first reading of Jay County's 2008 budget.
Heads of a few local government departments scrambled to secure raises for some employees left out of previously approved hikes.
Jay County Council agreed to a 3 percent wage hike for a total of 28 workers in several departments.
The employees didn't qualify for an increase granted to other full-time workers earlier this month because their hourly earnings reached the top of the county's pay scale. They were slated to receive a .56 percent raise for the cost of living. The council was contacted about the issue prior to Wednesday's budget hearing.
The new pay hikes will cost an additional $18.242.18, according to figures from the Jay County auditor's office.
Sheriff Ray Newton said not providing the employees with raises that exceed the cost of living sent the wrong message. He added that the lower increase told workers that had been with the county for a long time that they were undervalued.
"I feel like if I sit back there and say nothing I'm not doing my job as an elected official," he said.
The 3 percent pay raise for the 28 county workers, and the one approved earlier this month for other full-timers, matches amounts granted each of the last three years, council President Marilyn Coleman said.
The motion passed 4-1, with Councilman Jim Zimmerman not in attendance.
Gerald Kirby voted against the measure and Coleman abstained.
Coleman said the choice to grant raises was not a permanent solution to the dilemma posed in the county's pay scale, but the subject will be evaluated.
"We'll address the issue throughout the year to see how we'll handle it," in the future, she said.
Also Wednesday, council members decided to adjust wages for part-time EMTs and paramedics working for Jay Emergency Medical Services. The council previously approved a measure that lumped the two categories together in pay grade eight. But after discussing the issue with JEMS Director Teresa Foster-Geesaman, the choice was made to have part-time EMTs earn $9.99 an hour with paramedics making $10.60.
Paramedics receive higher wages because the two positions require "different qualifications," Jay County Auditor Freda Corwin said.
Some people were not as successful in their attempts to lobby the council to change its mind on previous budgetary decisions.
Chuck Huffman, a member of Jay County Development Corporation board of directors, pleaded his case for the council to reinstate full funding for community development during 2008. His request died without discussion.
In a previous budget hearing, council members agreed to fund JCCD for only half of 2008, depending on the organization's progress with community development projects. At the time, Kirby cited strained relations between community developer and grant writer Ami Huffman and several local municipalities as a reason for the decision.
Separately, county engineer Dan Watson voiced concern over the council's decision earlier this month to include a flat $750 raise for department heads outside of the pay plan. He noted that 2007 has been one of his busiest years, and said a 3 percent raise might be more appropriate.
"It's one percent, I'll be honest with you," Watson said of his salary increase under the approved raise.
No one on the council made a motion to address the issue.
In other business, Eric Rogers, executive director for Arts Place, came before the council to check his organization's funding status with the county. Jay County Commissioners had told him they appropriated $2,000 for the organization and would try to get another $500.
Kirby said the additional funding was not available because doling money out in this fashion would go against council operating procedures.
"The commissioners wanted to bump it up $500, but they're not here to ask," he said.
A miscommunication occurred earlier this month about how much Arts Place would receive in 2008 from Jay County Commissioners and the city of Portland. Commissioners sent a letter to the city stating that Rogers was seeking $5,000 to bring in out-of-town visitors and they wanted a matching donation from Portland City Council.
Due to the document's vague language, the requested amount was thought to be $5,000 from both the city and county. Eventually, Portland City Council decided to cut funding altogether.
"Because of the city council's decision I didn't want to take anything for granted, and that's why I'm here," Rogers said.
The council also approved funding for a full-time field officer for the community corrections department. The person filling the new position will earn $22,110.40 a year, Corwin said.[[In-content Ad]]Jay County Council moved toward finalizing how local departments will spend money in 2008 by approving the first reading of a budget worth more than $13 million.
Members passed the reading 5-1. Council President Marilyn Coleman was the lone dissenter. Councilman Jim Zimmerman was not present. The budget must be approved during the council's second reading on Sept. 12 to be adopted.
The $13,068,601.83 total for 2008 represents an increase of $546,824.11 from 2007, according to budget information. The expansion equals a little more than 4 percent. The county's annual budget rose an average of 5 percent each year from 2003 to 2007.
Jay County Auditor Freda Corwin said the jump displays "normal growth" for a county and allows services to be maintained in the presence of rising costs.
Of the figure approved in the first reading, $4,763,966 has been levied from property taxes, Corwin said. The budget also is funded by departmental and user fees, grants and money from the state.
Coleman said she voted against the budget reading because it contained two pieces of information she didn't agree with. The issues included a $750 raise for Jay County Council members and only funding Jay County Community Development for six months in 2008.
"It's a protest," Coleman said of her vote.
Here are some additional highlights from the first reading of the 2008 Jay County budget:
•The largest single departmental increase in 2008 comes in family and children's services. The department received an increase of $155,000.
•The cumulative capital development fund received $195,000 in 2007. According to information from the first reading of 2008, that amount will be pushed to $315,000.
•The sheriff's department received a proposed increase of $85,449.29 from last year. The rise in funding for 2008 was revised to a lower amount than originally outlined.
•Council members approved a raise of more than $56,000 to fund the Jay County Jail.
•Jay County Commissioners' budget dropped from $2,042,010.72 in 2007 to $2,006,872.73 during the first reading.
• Children's psychiatric residential treatment, a component of family and children's services, lost nearly $35,000 in budget funding.
•The council reduced operating expenses for the prosecuting attorney's office by almost $33,000.
•The local road and street department, a separate division of the highway department, received a reduction from $210,000 to $190,000 for paving.
Heads of a few local government departments scrambled to secure raises for some employees left out of previously approved hikes.
Jay County Council agreed to a 3 percent wage hike for a total of 28 workers in several departments.
The employees didn't qualify for an increase granted to other full-time workers earlier this month because their hourly earnings reached the top of the county's pay scale. They were slated to receive a .56 percent raise for the cost of living. The council was contacted about the issue prior to Wednesday's budget hearing.
The new pay hikes will cost an additional $18.242.18, according to figures from the Jay County auditor's office.
Sheriff Ray Newton said not providing the employees with raises that exceed the cost of living sent the wrong message. He added that the lower increase told workers that had been with the county for a long time that they were undervalued.
"I feel like if I sit back there and say nothing I'm not doing my job as an elected official," he said.
The 3 percent pay raise for the 28 county workers, and the one approved earlier this month for other full-timers, matches amounts granted each of the last three years, council President Marilyn Coleman said.
The motion passed 4-1, with Councilman Jim Zimmerman not in attendance.
Gerald Kirby voted against the measure and Coleman abstained.
Coleman said the choice to grant raises was not a permanent solution to the dilemma posed in the county's pay scale, but the subject will be evaluated.
"We'll address the issue throughout the year to see how we'll handle it," in the future, she said.
Also Wednesday, council members decided to adjust wages for part-time EMTs and paramedics working for Jay Emergency Medical Services. The council previously approved a measure that lumped the two categories together in pay grade eight. But after discussing the issue with JEMS Director Teresa Foster-Geesaman, the choice was made to have part-time EMTs earn $9.99 an hour with paramedics making $10.60.
Paramedics receive higher wages because the two positions require "different qualifications," Jay County Auditor Freda Corwin said.
Some people were not as successful in their attempts to lobby the council to change its mind on previous budgetary decisions.
Chuck Huffman, a member of Jay County Development Corporation board of directors, pleaded his case for the council to reinstate full funding for community development during 2008. His request died without discussion.
In a previous budget hearing, council members agreed to fund JCCD for only half of 2008, depending on the organization's progress with community development projects. At the time, Kirby cited strained relations between community developer and grant writer Ami Huffman and several local municipalities as a reason for the decision.
Separately, county engineer Dan Watson voiced concern over the council's decision earlier this month to include a flat $750 raise for department heads outside of the pay plan. He noted that 2007 has been one of his busiest years, and said a 3 percent raise might be more appropriate.
"It's one percent, I'll be honest with you," Watson said of his salary increase under the approved raise.
No one on the council made a motion to address the issue.
In other business, Eric Rogers, executive director for Arts Place, came before the council to check his organization's funding status with the county. Jay County Commissioners had told him they appropriated $2,000 for the organization and would try to get another $500.
Kirby said the additional funding was not available because doling money out in this fashion would go against council operating procedures.
"The commissioners wanted to bump it up $500, but they're not here to ask," he said.
A miscommunication occurred earlier this month about how much Arts Place would receive in 2008 from Jay County Commissioners and the city of Portland. Commissioners sent a letter to the city stating that Rogers was seeking $5,000 to bring in out-of-town visitors and they wanted a matching donation from Portland City Council.
Due to the document's vague language, the requested amount was thought to be $5,000 from both the city and county. Eventually, Portland City Council decided to cut funding altogether.
"Because of the city council's decision I didn't want to take anything for granted, and that's why I'm here," Rogers said.
The council also approved funding for a full-time field officer for the community corrections department. The person filling the new position will earn $22,110.40 a year, Corwin said.[[In-content Ad]]Jay County Council moved toward finalizing how local departments will spend money in 2008 by approving the first reading of a budget worth more than $13 million.
Members passed the reading 5-1. Council President Marilyn Coleman was the lone dissenter. Councilman Jim Zimmerman was not present. The budget must be approved during the council's second reading on Sept. 12 to be adopted.
The $13,068,601.83 total for 2008 represents an increase of $546,824.11 from 2007, according to budget information. The expansion equals a little more than 4 percent. The county's annual budget rose an average of 5 percent each year from 2003 to 2007.
Jay County Auditor Freda Corwin said the jump displays "normal growth" for a county and allows services to be maintained in the presence of rising costs.
Of the figure approved in the first reading, $4,763,966 has been levied from property taxes, Corwin said. The budget also is funded by departmental and user fees, grants and money from the state.
Coleman said she voted against the budget reading because it contained two pieces of information she didn't agree with. The issues included a $750 raise for Jay County Council members and only funding Jay County Community Development for six months in 2008.
"It's a protest," Coleman said of her vote.
Here are some additional highlights from the first reading of the 2008 Jay County budget:
•The largest single departmental increase in 2008 comes in family and children's services. The department received an increase of $155,000.
•The cumulative capital development fund received $195,000 in 2007. According to information from the first reading of 2008, that amount will be pushed to $315,000.
•The sheriff's department received a proposed increase of $85,449.29 from last year. The rise in funding for 2008 was revised to a lower amount than originally outlined.
•Council members approved a raise of more than $56,000 to fund the Jay County Jail.
•Jay County Commissioners' budget dropped from $2,042,010.72 in 2007 to $2,006,872.73 during the first reading.
• Children's psychiatric residential treatment, a component of family and children's services, lost nearly $35,000 in budget funding.
•The council reduced operating expenses for the prosecuting attorney's office by almost $33,000.
•The local road and street department, a separate division of the highway department, received a reduction from $210,000 to $190,000 for paving.
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