The Blytheville police and fire departments have included pay raises for all their employees in the proposed 2010 budget.
The 1/4-cent police and fire tax, passed in February, would be the funding source for the proposed hikes, which range from 3 1/2 percent to 8.25 percent, depending on the position.
Wednesday night, the Blytheville City Council's Finance Committee met for 2 1/2 hours, meticulously examining the fire and police department budgets.
Finance Committee chairperson Shirley Overman has tentatively scheduled another committee meeting for 4 p.m. Monday at the Municipal Courtroom as the board continues to hammer out the budget, which must be passed by Feb. 1. Mayor Barrett Harrison's proposed budget has $15,588,593 in expenditures verses $15,676,074 in revenue.
Meeting for the second time in three days, the Finance Committee, which didn't have a quorum Wednesday, heard pay raise proposals from Fire Chief Ivory Diamond and Police Chief Ross Thompson, both of whom included clerical positions in their requests.
In a separate line specifically for the 1/4-cent tax, Diamond offered a 5 percent pay raise for the entire fire department, along with a 1/2-percent longevity raise, which would cost $91,921.78, according to his projection.
The Fire Department's regular proposed expenditures tally $2,165,799.12, while the 1/4-cent expenditures total $196,517.70.
Meanwhile, Thompson proposed pay raises based upon rank and position.
Under his plan, base pay for officers would increase 3 1/2 percent in an effort to offset the additional 2 1/2 percent that now comes out of their checks for the pension plan.
Thompson also proposed an 8.25 percent increase between officer and sergeant pay, 8 percent hike between sergeant and lieutenant and 7 1/2 percent from lieutenant to captain. The effort is to increase pay $1,500 across the board for officers.
In addition, he requested the city provide officers with cell phones as part of their uniforms.
Civilian employees, such as secretaries and dispatchers, would receive a 5 percent increase with a 25 cents per hour hike for night dispatchers under the chief's plan.
The proposed salaries with employee expenses for 45 officers and 18 civilians total $2,272,873, up from $2,172,873 proposed in 2009.
"We handle more calls in the city than probably the rest of the law enforcement in the county combined," Thompson said. "And our pay should not be equivalent (to other departments)."
Personnel director Judy Andrews noted the police and fire departments should have the same pay for each rank.
She added the pay manual has city-wide secretarial rates.
"Our pay structure has different categories," Andrews said. "Fire and police, that's fine. But if we're going to start giving to the secretaries (pay increases), secretaries throughout the whole city make the same. They're in the same class. If the secretaries in the police department are going to get a pay raise it seems as though (the others should as well)."
Thompson said: "I think we need to remember our police department wouldn't be efficient without each individual that works for us. When we passed the tax, I don't think it says uniformed police."
Councilwoman Carol White said voters who passed the police and fire tax thought they were voting for raises for police officers and firemen, not secretaries.
"But they're inseparable," Thompson said. "When the general public walks up to the window to get a police report, they don't necessarily differentiate the young lady standing there as not being an employee of the police department. I guarantee you that if she doesn't serve them they will be down there in my office."
Meanwhile, Thompson proposed a 2 1/2 percent increase for the animal control officer and penciled in $10,000 for a part-time animal control employee.
"She works hard," Thompson said of animal control officer Terrie Gaines.
Added City Councilwoman and longtime Humane Society volunteer Shirley Connealy: "She works very hard: 24/7."
"We need to get away from that," Andrews said. "We cannot expect one person to be 24/7 on the job. It's a physical job, and it's an emotional job. It takes a toll. She needs some time off where she can know that she can go to church, or she can be at home and not be expected to be called out."
Jail Fees cut
Thompson projected just $72,000 for jail fees in 2010, after the city has paid about $255,000 this year, he said.
"There's been an issue about how they (the county) bill, how much they bill," Thompson said. "The reason I dropped that is because we figured it differently. There's a lot of controversy about it, but it's not necessarily the dollar amount. It's the method of how they're billing. There's pending arraignment, pending trial, pending adjudication. It's some of the specific wording that was used."
He said the city has been paying for prisoners that are no longer pending, who then become the county's responsibility.
Thompson said to arrive at the $72,000 figure he took sample months and calculated costs for pending prisoners only.
The city and county are currently in litigation over the jail fees issue.
Main Street requests
continued support
Main Street Blytheville board treasurer Phillip Koonce lobbied the committee to continue to support Main Street Blytheville.
Koonce said Main Street Blytheville is unable to get operational grant money; grant funds go to the Main Street businesses.
He said Main Street Arkansas' Mark Miller was recently in town, touting the local Main Street program as one of the best in Arkansas.
Koonce noted the organization has big plans in 2010, including seeking grants to help fill four vacant buildings on Ash Street.
He added Main Street has seen a dramatic improvement the last couple of years. In 2009, 12 new businesses opened downtown, creating 38 full-time jobs and five part-time jobs, he said.
mbrasfield@blythevillecourier.com