Algood City Council approved the second and final reading of an ordinance giving city employees premium pay using American Rescue Plan money.
30-year City Employee Tony Hogan said that although he’s put his heart into his work and dedicated himself to the city, he’s heard from the public that they don’t feel like city employees deserve the money.
“I feel like it means nothing to anybody here what we do,” Hogan said. “Everybody sees us when we take a break at the store. But they don’t see us when we’re out here on Christmas holidays. When everybody’s at home eating their Christmas supper, and we’re out here in the water and in the sewer.
City Administrator Keith Morrison said that part of the COVID guidelines are to use the money for premium pay. He said that while surrounding cities have all done something similar to this, it’s important to find the right balance between smart spending and taking care of city employees.
Vice Mayor Bill Bilbrey said that tonight’s discussion was about premium pay, but that raises for city employees will be part of upcoming budget discussions.
“We’ve got to take care of our employees because they take care of us,” Bilbrey said. “They’re typically the backbone of our infrastructure, so that’s why we want to take care of them. And we’re going to.”
In regards to raises, another city employee Joe McCartt voiced his concern about maintaining attractive pay and benefits to retain employees.
“We have a hard enough time keeping the people that we have,” McCartt said. “And the younger generation coming on, it’s harder to find somebody that is willing to work and get out there to work with us. And with our pay scale, we appreciate the benefits y’all give us, I give y’all a great hand there, really good. But the young people coming in don’t understand that value of the benefits and without some better, attractive pay, we don’t have the opportunity to get good help.”
Morrison said that city employees will have to meet specific guidelines to get the premium pay. He said that full-time employees can earn up to $1,500 and part-time employees can earn up to $750.
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