Ironton’s non-union city employees will get their share of pay raises other city employees have received.

Thursday, December 21, 2000

Ironton’s non-union city employees will get their share of pay raises other city employees have received.

Council members voted to bring a resolution back to the floor during a special council meeting Wednesday that gives the city’s management personnel a pay raise equal to the one union workers received earlier this year.

Collective bargaining negotiations with union officials and the city brought many employees a 2 percent pay raise, but did not apply to non-union management personnel, council chairman Jim Tordiff said.

"This is something that has been budgeted in, but we’ve been negligent to formally do it in legislation," Tordiff said. "Management has never got the same type of raise as union employees and many of these people don’t receive overtime because they are salaried."

The salary increase will be effective immediately upon passage of said legislation and shall be retroactive to March 1, 2000, the resolution stated.

Employees who benefit from the raise range from the dog warden to municipal court clerks to the police and fire chiefs.

Several employees in the engineering and water departments as well as mayor’s office and city solicitors are included in the raises.

"It’s a real slap in the face if we don’t give them the same percentage we give the union employees," Tordiff said. "It’s important to note this is a 2 percent raise that has been negotiated through union collective bargaining with other employees."

Councilman Jesse Roberts said that even though he recorded an affirmative vote, it was a tough decision to make.

"I’d like to point out that it’s really hard to judge or give raises given the current financial status of the city," Roberts said. "But, our budget has always reflected these people were given this raise when they were not."

Tordiff also noted that the Ohio Revised Code protects non-union government employees and requires legislative bodies to pass resolutions granting pay raises.

"We’re under obligation by law to have a resolution in place," he said. "That’s not to say they will receive a raise or that we are required to give them."

In other business, Councilman Richard Price voted to recess into executive session to discuss possible land acquisition, the 2001 operating budget and personnel.

Roberts and Councilman Bob Vaughn dissented, citing that Section 2.08 of the Ironton City Charter prohibits members of council from discussing matters not listed on the special meeting agenda.

"Section 2.08 of the city charter says ‘The Clerk shall call special sessions of the Council upon written request of the vice mayor or any three members. Any such requests shall state the subjects to be considered at such special meeting and no other subject shall be considered,’ and I don’t believe discussing the budget or personnel can be done during this meeting," Roberts said.

Roberts and Vaughn excused themselves from the meeting, but only Roberts did not attend the executive session.