By Matt Smith/msmith@trcle.com
City Councilman Sonny Russell broke a 2-2 tie vote on the Cleburne city budget Tuesday, giving police officers and firefighters a larger raise than other city workers.
Two weeks ago Cleburne’s proposed budget for fiscal 2007-08 failed on the tie vote. Mayor Ted Reynolds and Councilman Kyle Boles voted in favor of the budget while Councilmen Bob Force and John Warren voted against it. Russell was out of town during the last council meeting and missed the vote.
Under the budget, all city employees will receive a 4 percent raise and 2.5 percent step increase raise. Council members were divided on whether to give an additional 4.5 percent increase to police officers and firefighters.
Boles, Reynolds and Russell said the need to retain emergency workers necessitated such raises. Force and Warren called it unfair to single out one group over other city employees for raises and questioned the long-term costs of the raises.
“I was setting on the council 19 years ago when our house caught fire, so you don’t have to tell me how good our fire department is,” Force said. “I just don’t support your raising them above all the other employees. And we’ve got 200 other city employees you’re singling out to not get a raise. That’s the reason I object and will continue to object.”
Proponents argued the better raises would help retain the expensive-to-train officers and firefighters who can find better pay in nearby cities.
Force argued that departments other than police and fire also lose employees who train with the city before taking higher-paying jobs elsewhere.
“But all our employees are getting a significant raise,” Reynolds said. “It’s just that we want to bring [police and fire] closer to what other nearby cities pay and not be a training ground for them.”
Russell agreed.
“It’s a bona fide fact we spend two years and thousands of dollars training them,” Russell said. “From a business point of view, we can’t do that and have them going somewhere else. These raises will slow that down.”
After the tie vote Sept. 11, officials were forced to adopt a preliminary, bare-bones budget.
Money from the general fund will cover raises for all employees and the additional pay for police and fire personnel. City employees other than police and fire workers will receive a one-time salary adjustment, however. The amount dedicated to all non-police and -fire employees was originally proposed at $150,000 but raised to $300,000 at Warren’s request Tuesday.
In other news, the council:
zx Authorized City Manager Chester Nolen to execute an agreement between the city and the Texas Department of Transportation for the extension of Colonial Drive from Woodard Avenue to West Henderson Street. The city will pay $299,400 of the cost while federal funds of $1.2 million will cover the remainder.
zx Appointed Joseph Vasquez to the planning and zoning commission.
zx Re-appointed Steve Shaffer to the zoning board of adjustment.
