Posted: 12/22/04
By Aaron Vehling
The Stacy City Council and Lent Town Board continued their joint powers meeting Dec. 14 at the beginning of Stacyís regular meeting. The issue at hand was firemenís wages.
For some time now, Stacy-Lent firefightersí wages have been $6 an hour for fire and rescue calls, said councilman John Daher in a phone interview after the meeting.
He said that the Stacy-Lent firefighters were ìgrossly underpaidî compared to area departments where firefighters wage ranges from $12 to as much as $20 an hour.
At the meeting, the two groups discussed how to pay for a proposed $6 an hour increase in wages.
Councilwoman Katie Davidson said, ìI am not saying they donít deserve it,î but added that she was concerned that doubling the wages would not be the best action, considering that the increase was not budgeted for.
But Mayor Mike Carlson felt differently about the situation.
ìHow about making the numbers fit the budget,î he said. ìItís well worth the money, in my opinion, to take care of these people (firemen).î
Carlson said in a phone interview last week that Stacy had ìadequate money in our budget to cover that (increased wages).î
Carlson and councilwoman Barb Otterson voted for the increase and Davidson voted against it. Daher abstained from voting and discussion because he is a member of the Stacy-Lent fire department.
Also at the meeting, council members approved compensation for themselves. The council unanimously approved compensation for 12 meetings, hearings and work sessions the members attended for the second half of 2004. This amounts to about $4,220 for all four council members and the mayor, according to the report. The total for 2004 is about $8,300.
In addition, the council discussed what to do with park dedication fees they received from two developers.
Foxtail Woods paid $55,300 in fees and Sunrise Prairie paid $23,100. The council decided to hold on to the $23,100 and invest the remaining in a six-month CD with the First State Bank of Wyoming.
The council unanimously voted to certify the levy for 2005 of $154,988.50, which is less than the proposed $188,488.50. The council decided to reduce the $67,000 for capital projects to $33,500.
A sore spot for the council was a list of 14 home owners and business owners who had delinquent water and sewer accounts.
ìWe need to look at some legalities here,î said Daher. ìIt creates budgeting issues.î
Daher agreed that some of the people on the list may be encountering legitimate hardships, but said ìa majority of these people are on the list every year.î
The council certified the list with some discussion as to how they can get people to pay their bills on time.
It was suggested that the city could publish the list in local newspapers, but that idea was denounced on grounds that some of the individuals on the list may being going through tough times.
The council also bid farewell to Councilwoman Barb Otterson who lost her bid for re-election in November.
She has expressed interest in joining the planning commission.
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