Kanosh council approves pay increases for town employees, directs attorney on irrigation project

The Kanosh Town Council approved pay increases for several town employees and appointees and said it sent additional direction to its attorney about managing an ongoing irrigation-company project, council members said following a closed session.

Council members said they had read the attorney's written response and have sent further communication about how to allow the irrigation contractor to complete work while limiting the town’s exposure; no formal new contract change or dollar amount for that project was presented at the meeting.

Council members voted to raise hourly pay for two town employees and to increase monthly stipends for three town appointees. According to the meeting record, the council approved a $1.50-per-hour raise for Lauren Shumway and a $1.00-per-hour raise for Steven Adams. A council member said they would recuse themselves from the vote on one of those raises; the meeting minutes record that the motion was seconded and the council voted “All in favor. Aye. Aye.”

Cheryl Acton, chair of the council, then moved approval of increases for town appointees. The council approved raising Cindy Turner’s compensation as town clerk by $100 per month to $1,400 per month, increasing Liz Whitaker’s pay as cemetery sexton from $300 per month to $325 per month, and approving an increase for Danyann Whitaker listed in the record as a $50 increase with a notation “moving here from 9 to $9.50.” The transcript language about Danyann Whitaker’s change mixes units (it is not clear from the meeting record whether the 9→9.50 figure refers to dollars per hour or another unit); that detail was not clarified on the record at the meeting.

The meeting record shows the motions to approve the appointee increases were made, seconded and approved with the verbal vote recorded as “Aye.” The council then made and seconded a motion to adjourn, and the meeting ended.

Votes at a glance: the record shows motions to approve the employee hourly increases and the appointee monthly increases were each put to a voice vote and recorded as approved. The record does not provide named roll-call tallies or identify the member who recused themself by full name.

The council did not present an amended contract, a dollar figure for the irrigation project, nor a formal written directive to staff in the public portion of the record; it noted only that further communication had been sent to the town attorney and that discussion of how to manage the contractor is ongoing.