Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Personnel Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council considers amending salary ordinance to limit phone stipend to employees who work 3+ hours per month
Summary
Council reviewed an amendment to the 2026 salary ordinance that would deny the phone stipend to hourly employees who work fewer than three hours in a month, citing payroll-tax effects that can make the stipend net-negative for low-hour employees.
The council considered an amendment to the 2026 salary ordinance to change phone-stipend eligibility. Chair (S3) read the proposed text: employees who work fewer than three hours in a month would not be eligible for the phone stipend, a change intended to prevent small stipends being eaten by payroll taxes.
Chair (S3) read the ordinance language aloud: “The town shall not pay the phone stipend to any employee, hourly employees, who, number 1, works fewer than 3 hours in a month. Employees... shall not be eligible to receive the stipend for that pay period.” Councilors discussed payroll-processor implications and whether the payroll system can reliably implement a last-period-of-month rule.
Members asked the clerk to consult payroll processing for practical implementation and whether existing language (stipend paid monthly) conflicts with the proposed eligibility change. No final vote was recorded; the council asked staff to confirm technical payroll options and return with recommendations.
