Council freezes wages, continues with new tax

Members of the Pulaski County Council have decided to freeze any increases in county employee salaries to save money and have also decided to move forward with the new county income tax.

During a joint session with the Pulaski County Commissioners, on Sept. 30, the decision to freeze wages came after much debate and with opposition.

A committee of council members, Linda Powers, Alex Haschel and Doug Roth, have worked to apply a longevity matrix that was created by the sheriff’s office to county employee salaries.

“I think our committee was set up because, from what I’m hearing Shelia say, from what I’m seeing on paper, we are overspending every year,” Powers said. “So really, our goal is to figure out something that is put in place so that we have consistency with longevity and it’s standard. Then we as a council have to buckle down and not let overspending happen.”

Having consistency will help the county from worrying whether or not there is enough funding every year in regards to increases or raises, according to Powers.

Doug Roth said the matrix would allow for “predictability.” He calculated the matrix to apply to other county departments and estimated the increase would be about $42,000. That total did not include the sheriff’s office. If elected officials did not receive an increase the total would be about $32,000.

“Basically when I created ours, my thought was to have as little impact on wages right now,” Doug Roth said. “I think I came up with maybe 30 people that would receive a raise this year.”

Haschel said the increase will not be fair to everyone, but the matrix would give organization to employees’ wages and would be consistent. “You would know when you are getting a raise. I think that we have had problems with that before.” She used the example of new hires coming in and receiving the same wage amount as those who have been working for the county for years.

Powers said to make things equal among the employees and to take into consideration longevity, the council would cut wages and that was not the intention.

“Is it perfect? It’s not. Is it going to take a few years for things to separate and people to see the logic of doing it this way? Probably,” Doug Roth said.

Garling said she has a problem with the increases because although it may look like the longevity increases are possible in 2016, they won’t be next year. With those increases also comes an increase in employees’ retirement.

The percentages in the longevity matrix created by the sheriff’s office were randomly decided and not dictated by the state. How much a person could receive is based off a percentage of the sheriff’s salary. The matrix system has been used by other counties.

Council president Jay Sullivan said he doesn’t agree with the percentages being based off the sheriff’s salary. He believes it is a good starting point. He used the example that if the sheriff’s salary is decreased than do the deputies’ salaries decrease. He said there are too many variables.

The council approved to freeze wages and continue working on the matrix. Wages for county employees could increase after the first of the year, if the budget allows. Elected officials are not allowed an increase unless it is approved in the proposed budget prior to the new year.

Powers opposed the wage freeze.

Doug Roth questioned if the council would address the issue with new hires. His concern is that each time a new employee is hired that person is hired at the same wage the previous employee was making, putting little to no difference between the longevity.

A motion was approved that if any new hire or replacement hires are made, the salaries must go before the council to approve the salary.

“We are trying to get control of the fact that the longevity is not being rewarded,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan also suggested that the committee and the council take into consideration how much training a person must have for the position when looking at the matrix.

Garling also asked that the county look at the part-time rates. There are part-time employees who are stuck at the initial hiring rate of about $9.46 instead of the $13 rate. The $13 rate was not applied until after 630 hours. The council dismissed the 630 hours, but Garling said she was not instructed to give the employees a higher rate.

Sullivan said the employees would automatically get the higher rate. He said the change needs to be retroactive to June.

Doug Roth said he wants to ensure when the date of the retroactive pay is.

As discussion continued, Garling said people are questioning why the county is moving toward the Local Option Income Tax (LOIT).

Sullivan said the tax is needed because the state continues to cut funding. He used the example that LOIT may provide about $500,000 but the county is having to cut about $2 million.

“We have to do something to make sure that we are providing the necessary services to the people in the county,” he said.

The LOIT can only be used toward emergency services.

In other business:

• The issue of too many dogs in the county was addressed during the joint session. Sheriff Jeff Richwine said the county needs to think about whether they want to get into the dog business, because the problem is bigger than a part-time position. Commissioner Terry Young said he has housed a dog for three weeks because no one wants to take it. Richwine said the department is beginning to calculate the number of dogs being taken from Winamac or Medaryville. He suggested maybe those towns need to help with the situation. Commissioner Larry Brady said he wanted to inform the council of the situation and hopefully a solution can be found.

• Before the regular meeting, the council and the commissioners heard from various architects regarding renovations to the courthouse and other county buildings. Young questioned where the council should go now that they have an estimate of how much it will cost. Sullivan agreed with Young that something needs to be done. Some of the offices need more space and there are security issues that need to be addressed. “If we don’t do it now, we are going to have to do it later,” Young said. A motion for the commissioners to proceed with renovating the courthouse was approved. The council did not make a decision.