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Albia council approves clerk raise, higher mowing pay and officer sign-on bonus amid split votes
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Summary
The council approved multiple personnel and compensation items June 19: a $2/hour raise for the city clerk (4-2), part-time mowing pay raised to $17/hour (5-1), an employee handbook resolution (5-1), and a $10,000 certified officer sign-on bonus to be paid over five years (6-0); some bonus language and cemetery COVID funds were deferred.
At its June 19 meeting the Albia City Council approved several personnel and pay measures, and it debated an employee handbook after members of the public urged reconsideration.
John and Jana Simmons addressed the council asking the body to reconsider some items in the proposed employee handbook. Council then voted to adopt the employee handbook resolution as presented (motion by Brandon Williams, second by Scott Kelly). The resolution carried 5-1; Merle Regenold voted no.
The council approved a $2.00-per-hour increase for the city clerk, at Mayor Richard Clark's request, on a 4-2 vote. Brandon Williams moved the increase and Chris Yarkosky seconded; Councilmembers Merle Regenold and Scott Kelly opposed the measure.
Councilmembers also voted to raise part-time mowing wages from $13.00 to $17.00 per hour effective July 1, 2023; the motion carried 5-1 with Scott Kelly voting no. Discussion of employee bonus language and requirements was deferred until the next meeting.
On public-safety compensation, the council approved a certified officer sign-on bonus of $10,000 to be paid over five years: $2,000 after six months of employment and $2,000 in each of the four subsequent years, a measure that passed unanimously. Assistant Chief Tyson Irwin also presented a temporary 12-hour-on/12-hour-on-call shift schedule for officers, which the council approved 6-0 as a short-term measure until staffing levels improve.
Council also deferred action on use of COVID funds for cemetery purposes until the next meeting and declined to move to remove a mowing abatement assessment or to relieve a sewer tax charge when no motion was made on those requests.
The transcript records the votes and payment schedule for the sign-on bonus but does not include detailed budget offsets or long-term funding sources for the wage changes and bonuses.