Photo by Kirsten Zoellner
The Rushford Village Council approved a 3% Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) increase for city employees: Clerk Mary Miner, Treasurer Judy Graham, Public Works Supervisor Trenten Chiglo, and Public Works/Maintenance worker Jeff Michel. The sticking point in the discussion was giving a secondary increase after employees received a step increase this summer.
The council looked at three options, deciding to use the largest and to remove the option for another step increase. Employees are reviewed annually and typically gain step increases due to increased training or licensing, job performance/requirements, or time in the position.
“It seems funny that we would give a cost of living increase and a step at the same time,” said Councilor Roger Knutson. He suggested new employees move through the step system more quickly as opposed to starting them with a big wage. “It’s a reward for longevity,” he noted.
“We’ve already given them a raise which has been quite a bit. I guess I have a hard time justifying it,” countered Councilor Rick Ruberg.
“We’re in a growth mode,” said Councilor Bob Hart. “We’re increasing our levy a little bit. At some point in time, we’ll get to a point where we can increase a little every year. I don’t want anyone to think we don’t appreciate you; we do.”
At the highest rate, the 3% increase equates to $0.29/per hour and roughly $2,400 annually. “I’d rather give the 3% now and then evaluate and do a better job of dealing with it at that time. We’re doing good and getting policies in place that we’ve needed for a long time,” added Hart.
“It’s not the employees’ fault we were behind on pay,” said Knutson. “We had to bring it up to what’s realistic in today’s workplace. Everyone wants to feel appreciated and get a raise every year. We can’t waste money. We have to be frugal with it, but we need to keep good employees. We have to be a place where we want people to apply and work here.”
“I don’t think these wages are at the bottom of the pole. They’re pretty good for this area now,” said Ruberg. “I’m not gonna disagree that they’re not important, but we’ve already given a good raise.” The motion to approve the 3% COLA increase was approved 4:1 with Ruberg opposed.
The council also carefully considered and approved the 2023 Community Economic Development Associates (CEDA) contract. It was tabled last month for further discussion. CEDA proposed a not-to-exceed amount of $14,479 for the year-long contract. Representative Rebecca Charles worked on several items this year, including a survey, project grant writing, and updating the Comprehensive Plan.
“We need to let her get this work done and take a hard look at it next year. We’re unique circumstances here,” noted Councilor Mike Ebner. He added that earlier in the contract, the village provided poor direction on work.
“A professional shouldn’t need direction. She should have known those things,” responded Hart. “How does the council feel about this… here we are, next door to Rushford. Two communities symbiotic in many ways. What if we shared with their council and did what was best for everybody? They tie us into the things they need and we tie them into the things we need?”
“That’s a whole different discussion we need. It would be nice to get back to having some tri-city meetings,” said Mayor Dennis Overland.
“A lot of personnel has changed in all three places [Rushford Village, Rushford, and Peterson]. Right now, we have to deal with this,” added Knutson. “We’ve brought up enough with her and repeated enough the last few years. This might be the next direction with them.”
In other news, the council approved the purchase of new digital water meters from Metron-Farnier. Both their bid and the competing one offered similar provisions, but Metron-Farnier is far less costly. The village will need to contract with a local company for installation, but the service will not require building infrastructure to operate, instead utilizing local satellite towers. Meter details send digitally and are read on-site via USB hookup.
The new system will read meters daily, alert to temperature drops and high flows from broken pipes, and do cross readings as needed. The updates will also include inventory and mapping of the type of plumbing in every property due to a new Environmental Pollution Agency Lead & Copper Rule. The documentation needs to be completed by 2024. The bid is for 10 years. After that point, the service is guaranteed not to increase by more than $8 per meter per year.
“The issue is trying to get in everyone’s home,” acknowledged Knutson. “There are cities that adopt ordinances so when you agree to purchase water from the city, you agree to allow access. There’s a surcharge to water usage for not allowing access. Hopefully, we don’t struggle with that. It’s a benefit to them to have accurate water reading.”
The timeline is a bit tricky. While meters can arrive as soon as three weeks, all meters are preloaded, and the warranty begins upon arrival. The village will need to have everything ready and the contractor set up for a quick installation.
The next regularly scheduled council meeting is Tuesday, December 20, at 7 p.m. at the Village Hall. The public is encouraged to attend.
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