Saturday, November 27, 2010

City Council discusses pay periods

ByPhil Smith
Phil@thepostandmail.com
COLUMBIA CITY — Members of the Columbia City Common Council discussed their own salaries Tuesday night and the second reading of the ordinance establishing their 2011 pay did not pass by without discussion.
Council member Roger Seymoure took issue with the way the pay is set up, which is an annual salary, but which is divided into bi-weekly pay periods.
A fluke that happens only once in a great while caused the council members, as well as the mayor and the clerk-treasurer, to receive an extra paycheck in 2010.
“This (ordinance 2010-32) conforms to the way that other cities are doing it,” said Mayor Jim Fleck.
Due to the pay schedule, the officials received 27 pay checks this year. The normal number of pay days for bi-weekly pay periods is 26.
“I think (changing the ordinance) would cut out the questions, so we never get into this discussion of whether there are 26 or 27 pays,” said Seymoure. “I would like to see it changed to show it (the salaries) as an annual amount.”
Fleck said changing ordinance currently being reviewed would be man hours and paperwork that isn’t necessary since 2011, the year the ordinance was written for, has only 26 pay periods.
“It substantially would require some major recalculations,” Fleck said.
The board, along with the mayor and Clerk-Treasurer Rosie Coyle, receive their final paycheck of 2010 on Dec. 31, although Coyle said it would probably be earlier due to the holiday.
Coyle told Seymore that the board could pass the current ordinance, which was approved for its second reading but not ratified yet, and she would remember to change the 2012 salary ordinance before it comes in front of the board in a year.

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