The Grants Pass City Council last night took no definitive action on a resolution that would boost the salary schedules for 51 non-bargaining employees.
Instead, the City Council voted unanimously to create a short-term task force to look at the proposed raises that would affect various department budgets in the amount of approximately $1.3 million for the next fiscal year.
Councilor Rob Pell made the motion to create the task force after a public hearing in which citizens testified strongly against the pay raises. Councilor Indra Nicholas seconded Pell's motion and the vote was 8-0. The motion was amended to have the city consultant act as a facilitator for the task force, which will likely be composed of two Council members and two citizens.
Prior to the vote, Pell said putting the salary adjustments on the Consent Calendar in March was a "giant mistake" and added that 100% of the emails he has received from his constituents were against the pay raises.
Pell also reminded his colleagues that during the recent strategic planning session, they agreed that the plan should focus on public safety funding first. The Council will meet for discussion on that topic on June 30th. The new task force will wait until after that meeting to share its findings on the employee salary adjustments.
Nicholas said many city employees deserve pay raises, but she believes a "customized approach" is warranted before they can be granted.
Councilor Joel King ended the discussion by stating that "the City Council needs to own this problem, fix it and move forward."
