After Athens Mayor Paul Wiehl said he was giving employees raises with or without council approval, councilmembers brought forward an ordinance giving a one percent raise to nonunion employees.
Non-union employees in the Athens Mayor’s Office might be seeing a pay raise soon — if Athens City Council can come to a decision about it.
After Mayor Paul Wiehl allegedly told council he was going to give non-union employees in his office a 1 percent raise whether council approved it or not, councilmembers put forth an ordinance for first-reading Monday to approve the raises.
A 1-percent pay raise for nonunion employees would cost $47,000 annually, Wiehl said in a previous Post report.
“Essentially … what were doing here with this ordinance is giving a 1-percent pay raise to most of the nonunion employees that are under the mayor’s direction,” Councilman Jeff Risner, D-2nd Ward, said.
Though non-union city employees received 2-percent raises in 2015, City Auditor Kathy Hecht gave her office’s employees 3- and 4-percent raises.
Former City Law Director Pat Lang said department heads within the city could give raises to employees as long as the raises remained within the pay bands previously set by city council.
“It had been the tradition that council raised wages and salaries,” Risner said.
Risner also said that if Wiehl were allowed to implement the raises without council approval, council would have “lost that authority.”
“If council does not exercise its power, it looses it,” Risner said. “At that point, council becomes irrelevant.”
Wiehl advised councilmembers at earlier meetings to act and take back their power to decide pay levels. Until Monday’s meeting, council did not propose legislation on the issue.
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Not all councilmembers agreed with Risner’s sentiment, though.
Councilwoman Jennifer Cochran, D-at large, said she wanted to see more merit-based pay raises for city employees.
“We wouldn’t be sitting here talking about this if four employees didn’t receive what seemed like merit-based raises,” Cochran said.
Cochran said the ordinance giving pay raises made her “uncomfortable.”
“I’m uncomfortable with the fact that this has become a tit-for-tat,” Cochran said.
Other councilmembers voiced that they were ready to move on from the issue.
Councilwoman Chris Fahl, D-4th Ward, said that council should “reestablish precedence and … move on.”
“It’s kind of bogged down council and administration,” Fahl said.
Risner argued though that the ordinance needed to be either unanimously passed or denied.
“What we have here is not an argument over whether they deserve this … the issue to me is frankly … a constitutional issue,” Risner said.
Though Lang had formerly voiced his opinion on the issue, Councilman Mike Canterbury, D-at large, wanted a second opinion from acting City Law Director Lisa Eliason “to see if it coincides with Law Director Lang’s opinion.”
“If council were to approve this (ordinance) … (I ask that) they create an ordinance to take the power back for next year,” Canterbury said.
Even after a lengthy debate, council still seemed divided.
“It doesn’t matter which way a council member votes on this,” Risner said. “Each way you’re asserting your authority.”
Council also read an ordinance that would adopt buildings affected by the West Union Street fires into a state-designated historic district.
Before council can do that, City Planner Paul Logue said at a previous meeting, council would have to hold a public meeting before requesting the designation.
The meeting will be held at council’s March 16 meeting.
Councilwoman Michele Papai, D-3rd Ward, also reminded residents to shovel snow from their sidewalks.
“At the end of a snowfall, you have four hours to clean your sidewalks. At that point, you can be cited,” Papai said.
Papai advised Ohio University students going out-of-town for spring break to arrange for someone to shovel their sidewalks.
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