Council passes 65-cent increase

After two months of discussion, a 2022 raise was approved for City of Portland employees. It was not unanimous.

Portland City Council on a 4-3 vote Monday approved a 65-cent raise for all full-time city employees on first reading.

Mayor John Boggs for the fourth straight meeting requested that council give all full-time city employees a $1 raise. He noted an increase in the cost of living, saying the consumer price index has gone up 5.4% this year, and that the city’s assessed value has gone up an average of 4.65% over the last five years.

City council member Dave Golden put the question to council president Kent McClung, who had been absent for the previous two meetings because of an overseas trip. During those meetings, council first tabled the issue and then deadlocked on a vote for a 50-cent raise.

McClung said he believed a 65-cent raise could be passed, but that there was likely not council support for anything higher. He pointed out that city employees have a fixed contribution for health insurance — $10 per pay period (every two weeks) for individuals and $50 for families. Those numbers have been unchanged for at least 15 years, amounting to a raise for employees each time insurance costs go up, he said.

Golden said he also struggled with the insurance issue, noting the lesser contributions to insurance — and thus higher costs for employees — in Dunkirk, Redkey and the county.

Council member Matt Goldsworthy pushed for the $1 raise proposed by the mayor, saying it makes no sense to him not to pay employees more when it is currently difficult to fill positions.

He urged council members to “take care of” the employees the city has and not let them walk out the door.

Ultimately, Golden made a motion for a 65-cent raise, with Janet Powers seconding it. The motion passed 4-3, with Don Gillespie, McClung, Golden and Powers in favor while Mike Aker, Michele Brewster and Goldsworthy voted against.

A vote to suspend the rules in order to allow a vote on second reading Monday failed, with Aker, Goldsworthy and Brewster voting against. (Such votes must be unanimous.) Therefore, the ordinance will need to be voted on again at council’s Aug. 16 meeting.

(The raises apply to all full-time city employees except Portland City Court Judge Donald Gillespie, who said he would not take a raise.)

Also Monday, council heard an update from park board member Brian Ison on its process of developing its five-year master plan. Ison said 483 park surveys have been filled out so far, with trails and a splash pad as top requests. Safety and vandalism have emerged as top concerns.

The park board will hold a public meeting at 6 p.m. Aug. 18 in council chambers at the fire station to give an overview on preliminary survey results and receive public comments. The survey, which offers paper copies at city hall and is available online at bit.ly/parksurvey21, will remain open until Aug. 27.

Boggs also reported that the latest round of paving through Indiana Department of Transportation’s Community Crossings grant program is underway in the city. This round of paving includes sections of Alexander Street between Race and Arch streets and High and Walnut streets, Second Street between Middle Street and Western Avenue, Massachusetts Avenue between Boundary Pike and Seventh Street, Garfield Street between High and Walnut streets, Bridge Street between Third Street at the bridge over the Salamonie River, and the entirety of both Hawkins Avenue and Olson Lane. The city was awarded a $220,155.75 Community Crossings grant for the work on a 75/25 matching basis.

Goldsworthy and McClung had a brief back-and-forth regarding coronavirus vaccines. McClung, commenting on his recent trip to visit family in Europe, mentioned the continued prevalence of mask wearing in Germany and France, noting the recent spike in cases of COVID-19 in Florida and encouraging vaccination.

“It’s not going to help anyway,” Goldsworthy interjected, later adding that “nobody has died from delta” in reference to the delta variant of the virus.

McClung challenged that assertion, with Goldsworthy saying he stood by his statement.

“99.5% of the people dying today of COVID are not immunized,” McClung said, quoting the statistic shared by Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “That’s a fact, sir.”

The CDC is encouraging vaccination. On variants, its website states “current data suggest that COVID-19 vaccines authorized for use in the United States offer protection against most variants currently spreading in the United States. However, some variants might cause illness in some people even after they are fully vaccinated.”

About 36.5% of Jay County residents 12 and older have been fully vaccinated.

In other business:

•Golden reminded residents that city council will hold a public hearing at 5:30 p.m. today in the Jay County Courthouse auditorium regarding U.S. Aggregates’ request to rezone about 108 acres for the purpose of expanding its quarry operation.

•McClung suggested the city consider a full-time superintendent for the parks department as is provided for by city ordinance. (Streets and parks are currently grouped together) The ordinance reads “the Mayor shall appoint the head of the Department of Parks and Recreation and the Zoning Administrator, with the approval of the Park and Recreation Board and the City Plan Commission, respectively.” McClung said the additions of Hudson Family Park and Portland Water Park merit a full-time employee to oversee the city’s parks year-round.

•Addressing a question from Powers, Boggs said the idea of tearing down the Bailey Building at the southwest corner of Main and Commerce streets and constructing a city/county government building on the site is a non-starter because the county is not interested in using the location for that purpose. Answering a separate question from Gillespie, he said the city’s street department is planning to board up the windows of the building to prevent injuries from broken glass.

•Aker asked about tree limbs blocking the Main Street stops signs at its intersection with Pleasant Street and plans for addressing the area where tennis courts were removed from Milton Miller Park. Boggs said he would have street department staff look at the Main/Pleasant intersection, and Ison noted that plans are to fill in the former tennis court area and re-seed it.

•OK’d compliance forms on 33 tax abatements — eight for Fort Recovery Industries, seven for FCC (Indiana), three each for Carrera Manufacturing, TLS By Design and Fisher Packing, two for Tyson Foods and one each for IOM Grain, MSSL Wiring Systems, Priority Plastics, St. Henry Tile, Stay Jay Hotels, Pennville Custom Cabinets and Joyce Dayton.

•Approved refinancing park bonds, which is expected to save about $65,000.

•Boggs noted the following:

—Jay County Chamber of Commerce’s “Shop Local, Buy Local” week is this week, with local businesses offering specials. Those who visit participating businesses and share photos on social media will be entered into a drawing to win a chamber gift certificate.

—Indiana Michigan Power will be changing all street lights in the city to LED. The work is expected to begin next month.

—Facade grants and other programs are available to businesses through Portland Redevelopment Commission. He encouraged businesses to contact to the group to learn what programs might be of interest to them.