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Councilors press city CEO on stipend advances after 2018 payment outside payroll schedule
Summary
Alderman Santiago questioned the city CEO about stipend payments made in advance in 2018, including a $2,625 payment; the CEO confirmed advances of one, four and seven months and said there is no written policy on pay advances; council asked corporate counsel and HR to investigate.
At the March 11 Common Council meeting, Alderman Santiago led questioning of the city's chief executive about stipend payments that were issued outside the normal quarterly schedule, focusing on a $2,625 payment recorded in November 2018.
"The payment was issued outside a normal quarterly stipend schedule," Alderman Santiago said, and asked whether the payment had been issued through the city's normal payroll system. The CEO confirmed the schedule for council stipends (paid quarterly in September, December, March and June) and acknowledged that the November 2018 payment had been issued outside that normal cycle.
Councilors and staff described the 2018 payments as having been processed as pay advances: "Based on that information provided, that payment presented stipend amounts issued 1 month in advance, 4 months in advance, and 7 months in advance," Alderman Santiago said; the CEO agreed the payments were not part of the ordinary payroll cycle and said staff would need to check authorization and supporting documentation.
Multiple councilors pressed for a written policy; the CEO said there is not a written policy on pay advances and that issuing advances "is not standard practice." Alderman De Lernia asked whether a special circumstance might justify the payments; the CEO said it was possible but that payroll and documentation would need to be reviewed. Councilors requested that corporate counsel examine the matter to ensure proper controls were followed.
Council members raised practical concerns about the implications of allowing advances, including fairness and administrative burden if advances were available to all employees, and asked HR and finance to search for documentation and to report back to the council. The meeting transcript records no vote on the matter at the March 11 session; councilors indicated they would direct corporate counsel to review the issue and follow up.
"So I would recommend that the corporate counsel please look into this matter," Alderman Santiago said.
