PARKERSBURG - Parkersburg City Council Tuesday approved the first reading of an ordinance to indefinitely suspend longevity pay for city employees. <\/p>\n
Council unanimously approved the first reading but not until a debate over whether the automatic raises should be done away with entirely. <\/p>\n
Last year, council did not include the automatic longevity raises for city employees in its 2012-13 budget. The longevity pay would have increased employee pay by 30 cents an hour each year of service. Council later voted to suspend the increases for a year. <\/p>\n
At Tuesday's meeting, Councilman John Kelly argued members needed to take a more definitive approach. <\/p>\n
\"We need to quit suspending it from year to year,\" he said. \"Eventually there needs to be something done with this.\" <\/p>\n
Mayor Bob Newell said he believed longevity pay should not be eliminated entirely, only suspended. <\/p>\n
\"This is a tool in the toolbox,\" he said. \"Down the road I suspect we may want to bring this back in some form or fashion. I'm against doing away with it entirely.\" <\/p>\n
Councilman John Rockhold and City Attorney Joe Santer said the ordinance as written would not eliminate longevity pay but also would not require an annual vote. <\/p>\n
\"This suspends it until further action from city council,\" Rockhold said. <\/p>\n
\"It will come back if council chooses to bring it back,\" Santer said. <\/p>\n
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See the article here: PARKERSBURG - Parkersburg City Council Tuesday approved the first reading of an ordinance to indefinitely suspend longevity pay for city employees. Council unanimously approved the first reading but not until a debate over whether the automatic raises should be done away with entirely. Last year, council did not include the automatic longevity raises for city employees in its 2012-13 budget Continue reading
\nSuspension of longevity pay passes first reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"