Huntingburg Council meeting: City moves towards incentive-based raises for employees
Jim O’Neal, WITZ News Director also contributed to this report.
Huntingburg — The Huntingburg Council is moving towards a merit-based pay raise system.
The city had approved a 1.5 percent arbitrary pay raise for salaried city employees in the 2014 budget after discussing it in July. Last night though, the council decided to change the system by which the city awards raises to a merit-based system.
The council approved a proposal to create an ordinance for the 2014 budget that would apply a standard raise of 1 percent based on a performance review conducted by the superintendent of the employee’s respective department. The superintendent will have the option to give the employee the full one percent or any portion of that down to nothing based on his or her performance.
The council will also consider passing a new policy regarding the evaluation process for raises. Supervisors will evaluate employees and assign points to seven categories: quality, productivity/independence/reliability, job knowledge, interpersonal relationships, attendance, initiative/creativity and adherence to policy.
For employees whose performance was considered more than exemplary, superintendents will have the option to propose a pay raise above the standard one percent up to two percent. Any raise proposed above the one percent standard will be reviewed by the mayor and council human resources director before being approved.
According to Mayor Dennie Spinner, the city and council have been examining this system for over a year. They were concerned about the proper method of implementing.
We recognize there will be some subjectivity but with training and the guide we have created we think it will be well implemented, he said.
The ordinance will be up for approval at the next common council meeting to be held at 7:30 p.m., September 26, at the City Council Chambers at the City Hall.
The council also took the following actions.
-Approved the interlocal agreement with the county for the construction of the railroad overpass. $8 million in federal highway funds will come through the Indiana Department of Transportation with $2 million local matching funds split between Huntingburg and Dubois County. Here is the original story on the overpass.
-Heard a proposal from Madeleine Pelzel, a Forest Park High School senior pursuing a degree in architecture, for renovating the historic Killian Home. Pelzel presented plans to turn it into a home, business or home office.
Pelzel told the Council that with an addition onto the house, it could be built out to 2,036 square feet with three bedrooms, two full baths and a two-car garage.
She said that she wanted to involve other students who could use the opportunity to learn how to apply the various upgrades and improvements in their own fields of interest.
She noted that this is part of the “Lead the Way” project and could be a great benefit for those involved as well as preserving an historic structure in the city. The Council congratulated her on a great presentation.
-Heard about the plans for the use of a $40,000.00 grant. The grant is through the federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, along with a $5,000 match from the city. The city will study the area between Jackson and Geiger Streets, from 3rd to 5th Streets. A series of “community conversations” will be planned to encourage residents’ participation to assist in formulating goals and objectives of the plan.
The grant is just part of the bigger examination of the downtown revitalization plan that the City is crafting to make important repairs to infrastructure and other vital services to allow the area to continue to remain a vital part of the business and social economic engine that keeps the city moving forward.
