A Town of Caledonia employee may soon see the pay increase he’s spent more than a year fighting to receive.
Water technician Trey Robertson filed a grievance last month against Water Superintendent Benny Coleman, alleging that although he passed a Class B water certification test last spring, Coleman refused to sign his certificate, preventing him from receiving a mandatory $1 per hour pay raise.
Tuesday night, Town Attorney Jeff Smith presented Robertson, Coleman and Caledonia Mayor George Gerhart with a conditional memorandum of understanding which all parties must sign by Friday and abide by for 60 days in order to bring the issue to a close.
Coleman remained quiet, his eyes fixed on the floor, as the document was presented. He didn’t respond to Robertson’s concerns that he may renege on the agreement.
Robertson’s pay will increase from $14.03 to $15.03 per hour as soon as the memorandum is signed, but the raise will not become permanent until the end of the 60-day period. If Robertson has met the stipulations set forth in the agreement, Coleman will be required to sign Robertson’s certificate and authorize a permanent pay increase.
The document, which Smith created at the behest of the board of aldermen, states it is intended to “relieve a situation which has become tense and almost untenable by all parties to this agreement.”
The three-page memorandum, obtained by the Dispatch, alleges Coleman has not signed the certificate because Robertson has failed to conduct himself “in an exemplary or workman-like manner to the satisfaction of the supervisor.”
Sources have characterized the relationship between the two as a generational conflict, with Coleman — as Robertson’s elder and superior — demanding a level of respect which Robertson has not shown.
In his grievance letter, Robertson said he felt Coleman was refusing to sign his certificate due to an unresolved dispute which began last July between Coleman and his parents.
The terms of the memorandum require Robertson “act and show his ability to conduct, understand, maintain and articulate his skills and workmanship in a degree and manner which shows the town and the supervisor he understands any and all relevant duties, specifications, and curriculum of a certified water operator within the state of Mississippi.”
Duties include punctuality, work attendance, honesty and integrity, “basic understanding of work, duty, loyalty and fidelity to supervisor,” along with understanding water transmission, purification, clarification, circulation, maintenance, transmission and usage. He is also expected to have a basic understanding of money and the water department’s operating costs.
If Robertson fails to meet the majority of the requirements, the $1 pay increase will be rescinded and Coleman will be released from any obligation to sign his certification.
Alderman Quinn Parham expressed concern over the verbiage of the agreement, saying he felt it left too much room for error, and Smith admitted that if any party fails to sign the document, or if the terms aren’t deemed to have been met at the conclusion of the 60 days, they will be “back to square one.”
After the board meeting, Gerhart said the memorandum is unnecessarily prolonging an issue which could have been resolved months ago if the aldermen had confronted Coleman about Robertson’s unsigned certificate.
“The full board insisted Trey take the exam, and he passed it,” Gerhart said. “Benny failed in his job as superintendent of the Caledonia Water Department.”
Robertson contends he has already met the requirements laid forth in the memorandum.
“It’s things I’ve been doing five years on a daily basis,” he said.
None of the parties signed the document Tuesday night.
Coleman last month said the town paid for Robertson to take the test three times, but neither he nor Gerhart could recall how much the test cost.
The certification test is administered through the Mississippi Water and Sewer Operators Association, which is under the umbrella of the Mississippi Department of Health.
Carmen K. Sisson is the former news editor at The Dispatch.
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