Personnel heads council agenda
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A career of city leadership spanning five decades came to a close Monday night as retiring councilman Don Solliday made his final motion to adjourn the meeting. First elected to one four-year term on the council in 1970, Solliday served four terms as mayor from 2005-2013. He was elected to a final four-year term on the council in 2014 but chose not to seek re-election for another term. Solliday remarked that back in 1970 the council purchased its first piece of equipment – a pickup truck for use by the city crew.
A series of items related to personnel comprised the bulk of the agenda of the Monday, December 16 regular meeting of the Mount Ayr city council.
Paid time off
The council approved a proposal to switch to a “paid time off” (PTO) model to keep track of employee absences.
Currently, employees accrue sick leave, vacation time, emergency leave, and personal leave, with a designated number of hours applied to each type of leave.
Under the PTO model, employees receive a set number of hours per year that they may use for any purpose, pending supervisor approval. Those hours are accrued on a monthly basis.
The new plan removes from the city the responsibility to keep track of the number of hours used in the different types of leave. Now the city has only to keep track of total hours absent.
The PTO plan will take effect January 1.
Compensation
The council approved two motions dealing with employee compensation.
First, city employees were granted a 2.9 percent salary increase for the upcoming fiscal year that begins July 1. The percentage reflects the cost of living increase estimated by the Federal Labor Relations Board.
Second, the council granted each employee a $50 “one-time salary adjustment” to appear in their December paychecks.
Health insurance
The council learned the city employees had agreed upon a new health insurance plan for the coming year.
City clerk Pam Poore told the council the premium for the new plan is approximately $1,000 less expensive than the current plan.
The cost of insurance is split between the city and each employee.
Board appointments
The council made the following appointments to city boards:
• Kim Lutrick was re-appointed to a five-year term to the board of adjustment.
• Paul Glendenning, Bob French and Jodie Wurster were re-appointed to five-year terms on the zoning commission.
• Daryl Holden was re-appointed to a three-year term on the low rent housing board.
Other business
In other business the council:
• approved the purchase of a 2020 Chevrolet 3500 pickup for the fire department from Glendenning Motors in Mount Ayr for $33, 225.
Fire chief Mike Wimer and fireman Billy Jones appeared before the council to recommend the purchase of the truck from Karl Chevrolet in Ankeny.
Wimer explained the quote from Karl came in about $1,200 lower than the Glendenning quote.
While he recognized the difference in the amounts, councilman Don Solliday stated that Karl Chevrolet doesn’t pay much tax in Ringgold County.
Councilman Brad Elliott echoed Solliday’s sentiment, stating that it is important to support local businesses with public dollars.
At the conclusion of the discussion, the council voted unanimously to purchase the vehicle from Glendennings.
• approved repairs to the street lighting along Shellway Drive. The boring for the installation of underground lines was approved at $16,675 with electrical work approved at $12,750.
• learned a slow leak had been found in the city’s central water tower. Water loss was estimated at 100,000 gallons before the leak was detected. A repair crew is expected to be in town this week to address the problem.
