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Pepper Pike council adopts compensation ordinance after brief debate; one member objects
Summary
On Feb. 11 the Pepper Pike City Council adopted Ordinance 25-03, a revised compensation ordinance, after a roll-call vote following a motion to suspend the rules and adopt on second reading. Councilmember Tony Gentile voted no; other members voted in favor.
The Pepper Pike City Council adopted Ordinance 25-03, a revision to the city’s compensation ranges, during its Feb. 11 meeting after suspending the second-reading requirement and voting to adopt the ordinance the same night.
Council members debated the comparables used to build the pay ranges before the vote. “I question the inclusion of Mayfield Heights and Beechwood in this comparison,” Councilmember Tony Gentile said, citing those cities’ larger populations and budgets. “Those cities have 2 and 3 times the number of residents and 2 and 3 times the budgets of Pepper Pike. So I would find them to be noncomparative cities.”
Mayor Rick Newell responded that the point of the comparison was not to limit consideration only to cities the same size as Pepper Pike because city employees consider positions across municipalities of varied sizes. “It’s not simply to look at cities that are the same size as us because our directors, our employees…have opportunity in cities of all size,” Newell said.
After discussion, Council voted to suspend the rule requiring a third reading and to adopt Ordinance 25-03 on second reading. The motion to suspend and adopt passed on a roll call; Gentile voted no and the remainder of the council present voted yes.
The ordinance establishes updated ranges for city positions; the text of the ordinance and comparative data were distributed to council in advance, according to the administration. The adoption itself does not change any individual employee’s pay beyond what budgeted increases or separate personnel actions may provide.
Mayor Rick Newell said the council would hold executive sessions for particular department head salary decisions where appropriate. “Some of them we will. We will have an executive session and some not all,” he said.
Votes at a glance
- Ordinance 25-03 (Compensation ordinance): Adopted (roll-call vote). Yes: Mayor Rick Newell; Councilmembers Zaytra; Waldman; LeMay; Knowles; Atrack; Dr. Wong. No: Tony Gentile. (Counts derived from the roll-call recorded in the Feb. 11 transcript.)
What’s next
Council discussion indicated some department-level salary adjustments may be handled later in executive session; the ordinance provides pay ranges rather than immediate individual salary changes. The administration said budgeted increases had already been considered for the current fiscal year.
