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Council approves $60 holiday bonus for city employees; amended to allow separate pre-Christmas checks
Summary
The council voted to approve a $60 holiday bonus for each eligible full-time, part-time and temporary employee, with funding drawn from non-general-fund accounts; the motion was amended to permit a separate check distributed before Christmas.
The council approved a $60 holiday bonus for each eligible full-time, part-time and temporary employee and amended the motion to permit a separate check to be issued before Christmas.
The item as presented outlined the breakdown of funding: a city payroll portion and a separately billed amount for temporary staff through Express Employment Professionals, plus supplemental amounts from a golf employee appreciation account and a donations/miscellaneous account. The agenda text provided account numbers and balances; staff and council discussed using donated funds so the bonus would not affect the general fund.
Courtney, identified in the meeting as payroll staff, told council members it would be possible to issue a separate check for each employee for $60 minus taxes so employees could receive the money before Christmas. "It is possible to do a separate check for everybody ... it would just be a separate … just a separate check for $60 minus the taxes," Courtney said.
Councilmembers also noted that several department heads had forwent their own bonuses so subordinate staff could receive the maximum amount. The mayor credited department heads for that decision.
On the funding specifics supplied in the agenda and discussed during the meeting: the city payroll portion was listed as $5,220 (city payroll), Express Employment Professionals would be billed for $17.40 (temporary staff billing shown separately in the agenda), $6,030.40 was recorded as income from a golf tournament to be paid from the golf employee appreciation account (account 414155242; account balance shown as $6,393), and $1,740 was proposed to come from the donations/miscellaneous account (account 969655341; account balance shown as $8,683.39). These figures were read into the record during discussion; staff agreed to include the amended language about a separate pre-Christmas payment when the item goes to the full council meeting.
The motion was made, seconded, amended to include the separate pre-Christmas check, and carried. The transcript does not record a roll-call vote naming each councilmember for this specific item; the meeting record shows the motion passed and staff were instructed to include the amendment in the formal council motion for the next meeting.
Councilmember Laurie Bradshaw, Councilmember Charles Strum and Councilmember Joanna Strobacher participated in the approval. The mayor confirmed the payments would be charged to the non-general-fund accounts specified in the agenda and would have no effect on the general fund.
The mayor asked staff to bring the precise amended language forward at the next council meeting so the disbursement can occur before Christmas if payroll logistics permit.
