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Council amends court‑clerk pay ordinance to allow benefit participation; amended first reading moves to second reading
Summary
Council considered Ordinance 12-42 to set a $70,000 salary for the city court clerk and voted to amend the ordinance to allow the clerk to buy into existing city benefit plans; the amendment passed on first reading and the ordinance will return for a second reading.
On Feb. 26 the East Ridge City Council revisited Ordinance 12-42, which proposes a $70,000 salary for the city court clerk. After discussion about whether compensation language could include nonfinancial benefits, Vice Mayor Tyler moved to amend the ordinance to allow the court clerk to participate in the city's existing employee benefit plans (medical, dental, vision, life insurance and long‑term disability).
City HR staff and the city attorney explained the mechanics: the ordinance may be amended to permit benefit participation but, because of charter language governing salaries and benefits for some elected positions, any permanent changes to council/mayor benefits could require referendum. Council confined the amendment to the court-clerk position and clarified that participation would be optional for the individual employee and subject to existing plan rules and enrollment procedures.
Council members discussed estimated employer costs if the clerk opts into coverage; staff said plan options and projected employer share figures were included in the meeting packet. The amendment to include benefit participation passed on first reading; the ordinance as amended will return for a second reading at a subsequent meeting for final action.
No final vote on the second reading was taken at the Feb. 26 meeting. The council also discussed procedural sequencing should the benefit amendment fail on second reading and how to preserve the original salary motion.
