News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Gainesboro is going to consider two options for employee pay increases during the next fiscal year.
That includes either performance based raises or a bonus.
The budget was passed by the city Thursday, and was going to include 50 cent raises across the board for city employees. However, Alderman Travis Agee said equal raises for everyone, was not the best choice.
“I don’t agree to that, just for the fact that some do more than others and some don’t do anything,” Agee said. “I don’t agree with giving everybody the same amount of raise. Some deserve three times that much.”
Alderman Ricky Head said he agreed with Agee that other than bonuses, a pay increase should be based on employee performance. It was said that previously a pay scale company came in for evaluations.
Mayor Lloyd Williams said bonuses have been done before, and they do not create a reoccurring cost.
“We’ve done bonuses at Christmas and it equals out and it’s not a reoccurring cost,” Williams said. “It was about $16,000 or $17,000, if you hadn’t been here a year you didn’t get $1,000, you got $500. That is always an option. We try to do it around the first of December to help around Christmas.”
The board wanted to get its budget passed and agreed to go back and make amendments once a pay increase model was selected. They said this was because it is hard to budget raises if the exact numbers vary from employee to employee.
