Washington City employees will get a raise if the suggestions from the City’s salary committee pass on second reading at the next Council meeting in two weeks. The Salary Committee suggested an average 4% increase in the salaries for Washington’s City employees. The salary suggestions were encoded in three ordinances that were given their first reading Monday evening. The Council also heard an ordinance that would end the requirement that city employees live within 10 miles of the city limits and within Daviess County. State law has already removed the requirements for firefighters and police officers. Mayor Rhoads told the Council that the requirements are affecting applications, especially in technical areas like IT. The new ordinance would still limit take-home vehicles to Daviess County without express approval.
The Council also heard the introduction of an ordinance that set up a special account to receive approximately $42,000 in grant money from FEMA’s Firefighter Assistant Grant.
In other business, the Council passed an ordinance using unused AARPA funds to buy a new fire truck. Mayor Rhoads says this frees up city funds for use on the Highway 50 project.
The mayor also said that work on the highway could begin in December.
At the end of the meeting, Street Commissioner Bryan Sergesketter told the Council that he has attempted to talk to IMI officials about the damage their heavy trucks and machinery are doing to the secondary streets at the West 7th and Sounth Street intersection, to no avail. The Council instructed City Attorney Tim Dant to write a letter to IMI concerning the situation and the damage the trucks are causing to the secondary streets not designed for heavy truck or machinery traffic.
