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Council OK's official's raise |
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Friday, 28 December 2007 |
By MIKE BURKHOLDER
Managing Editor
ST. MARYS — City Councilors Thursday night approved a 3.5 percent pay raise for the safety-service director — a move the mayor says is based upon his track record.
Mayor Greg Freewalt recommended the raise for Safety-Service Director Tom Hitchcock during city council’s regular meeting. Freewalt said Hitchcock deserved a raise based upon his performance during the past year.
“I rated him as a strong safety-service director given the number of projects he took on,” Freewalt told The Evening Leader following the meeting. “This is in the ball park of a pretty nice raise and I think it is fair.”
Freewalt requested the pay raise ordinance be passed as an emergency. Councilors approved the measure and Hitchcock’s raise will be effective Jan. 1. The raise places the safety-service director’s annual salary at $80,341.88.
Councilors also approved a measure to change the time of their meetings for 2008. Councilor-at-large Ron Ginter proposed changing the meeting time to 7 p.m. on the second and fourth Monday of the month instead of 7:30 p.m. The measure passed 5-1, with Councilor Jim Harris voting against the measure. The time change takes effect the first meeting in January.
Councilors passed the first reading of an ordinance establishing a video service provider fee to be paid by any firm offering such services within the city.
Hitchcock said the ordinance became necessary as the result of a piece of legislation passed in Columbus earlier this year.
“Before Senate Bill 117 we had a 5 percent franchise fee we collected,” Hitchcock said. “What this does is turn that into a service provider fee.”
Senate Bill 117 abolished the franchise fee and capped video service provider fees at 5 percent. Hitchcock said the measure should not impact the city much since it collected the 5 percent fee prior to the change.
“We are covered,” Hitchcock said. “Some cities collected more than that and lost revenue.”
The next meeting for the St. Marys City Council is scheduled for 7 p.m. Jan. 14 at the city building located along East Spring Street. The meeting is open to the public.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 02 January 2008 )
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