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Anniston staff present proposed COLA options, reimbursements and vehicle purchase; no formal votes recorded
Summary
Council members discussed a proposed cost-of-living adjustment for city employees, health-insurance and workers' compensation budget lines, reimbursements for two city employees and a capital purchase of eight police utility vehicles; staff indicated no vote was needed at the meeting and several details were left for future meetings.
Anniston City Council members discussed personnel cost options and several routine budget and procurement items, including a proposed cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) presentation, reimbursements for travel and a capital purchase of eight police utility vehicles.
During the budget discussion staff listed items in the personnel and benefits budget, including a health-insurance line of $4,040,000 and $337,700 for workers’ compensation. Staff presented a COLA option that they described as a separate percentage for all employees (excluding employees who recently received raises or those already at the top of their pay scale). The presentation described the separate adjustment as a higher percentage than an across-the-board increase and included an approximate figure given in the transcript as "about 0.7%" for the separate COLA option; the transcript shows staff saying the separate approach was recommended instead of only targeting public-safety staff. Staff said the separate adjustment would not apply to employees who had recently had raises or are already at the top of the pay scale.
Council members asked clarifying questions about timelines and scope. One council member asked what “recent” meant for employees who had received raises; staff responded it meant raises “within the last month or so or this fiscal year.” A council speaker noted that employees who are “tapped out” at the top of a pay scale are typically higher-level employees such as directors, and that such employees would receive base pay adjustments rather than step increases under the discussed system.
During questions about a pension or benefit fund, a staff member referenced an additional lump-sum payment of about $900,000 and asked how many more years of payments remained; the transcript did not provide a definitive answer to that question.
Separately, the meeting record lists reimbursement items on the consent agenda: reimbursement to Chief Bowles for attending the Alabama Association of Chiefs of Police Summer Conference in Gulf Shores, and reimbursement to Carla Eden for attending an economic-development training seminar in Auburn. The transcript also shows a capital-budget item for the purchase of eight police utility vehicles; staff said that purchase was included in the capital budget and indicated questions on the item would be welcome.
Other consent items mentioned in the recorded segments included an employee appreciation/recognition program and nuisance-property enforcement through a specified code date; a separate line item noted a public hearing had been scheduled for a retail alcohol license application for Dimanche Incorporated doing business as Amore at 1 Noble Street, Suite 1100, but a council member asked that action on that license be held off pending questions about a master agreement.
The transcript records discussion and questions but does not show formal votes on the COLA, reimbursements or the vehicle purchase in the provided segments. Staff told council members that the COLA discussion did not need a vote at that meeting.
Ending: Staff and council agreed to carry several items forward for later meetings or formal action; specific implementation details and final vote tallies were not recorded in the transcript excerpts provided.
