Hamilton City Council approves $19,000 longevity pay, ratifies water meter rates and declares tractor surplus

The Hamilton City Council approved a $19,000 longevity pay pool for city employees and ratified previously established water meter set rates at its meeting. The council also declared a 1970 Ford tractor surplus so the vehicle may be sold.

An unnamed council speaker presented the longevity pay recommendation, which allocates a total of $19,000 to be distributed on a tiered basis: employees with 0–1 years of service would receive $50; 1–5 years, $100; 5–10 years, $300; 10–15 years, $400; and 15 years or more, $500. The council moved and seconded the recommendation and solicited a voice vote.

Council members also officially acknowledged water meter set rates that went into effect on July 7, 2025. The rates recorded in the meeting record are: a 3/4-inch meter at $1,000 (with a road bore, $1,450) and a 1-inch meter at $1,350 (with a road bore, $1,850). A council member requested an explanation of how those rates were determined; a department representative outlined the hiring and selection processes for a separate personnel item (see related article) but no additional rate-setting detail or vote tally was provided in the transcript.

The council declared a 1970 Ford tractor (serial number U-seven1740) assigned to the Hamilton Parks and Recreation Department as no longer usable and authorized it to be sold via excess-property procedures. The phrase used in the record was that the tractor could be sold on 'gun bills.'

The meeting record shows motions and seconding for these items and the presiding speaker called for 'all in favor' and 'any opposed' on each; the transcript does not show individual roll-call vote tallies.

The council moved on to other business after these items.