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Parks director seeks one-time stipends for staff; county committee sends bills to full council without recommendation
Summary
St. Joseph County Parks director requested one-time stipends ($500 full-time; $250 part-time continuous) and cited a recent Teamsters contract negotiation; the Land Use Planning Committee sent bills 4-26 and 1-26c to the full council without a recommendation after discussion about precedent and funding sources.
Steve Slauson, executive director of the St. Joseph County Parks Department, asked the Land Use Planning Committee on Jan. 13 to approve a one-time stipend for park employees to help maintain pay competitiveness after recent Teamsters contract negotiations. Slauson said the Park Board approved the stipend at its November meeting and that funding would come from park general/unappropriated funds and surplus revenue, not a new county-wide appropriation.
Slauson told the committee the proposal was intended to retain maintenance staff who are represented by the Teamsters and observed that hourly maintenance workers are often recruited away by employers with higher pay. He proposed $500 for full-time continuous employees and $250 for part-time continuous employees, noting the Park Board vote was unanimous. Council members raised concerns about precedent for stipends and bonuses and whether park salary items should be handled by the Budget & Administration Committee; the Parks director said parks issues have historically been placed under Land Use Planning.
After discussion, the committee voted to send bill 4-26 and bill 1-26c to the full council without a recommendation for further deliberation.
