CALEDONIA — A handful of department heads and employees in Caledonia will be getting raises in October, and an upcoming water-rate hike will be rescinded.
Water Superintendent Benny Coleman proposed a 50-cent-per-hour cost-of-living raise for two of the department”s employees — Randle Flippo and Trey Robertson — and a 50-cent cost-of-living raise and additional dollar-per-hour pay adjustment for office manager Kathy Brown.
“Our business has grown 18 percent … We”re doing more with fewer people and trying to cut costs,” Coleman said during Tuesday”s aldermen meeting. “I think that”s justifiable.”
The board also voted to raise Coleman”s salary from $49,500 per year to $50,985 per year.
Alderman Quinn Parham cast the lone dissenting vote on the four salary increases, saying he disagreed with Brown receiving a higher raise than Flippo and Robertson. Last October, Parham had cast the only yes vote on a motion to approve 3-percent raises for all 11 town employees.
The aldermen voted unanimously to raise Town Clerk Judy Whitcomb”s pay from $14.82 per hour to $15.32 per hour.
Head Marshal Ben Kilgore”s salary was also on the table, with Alderwoman Brenda Willis proposing an increase that would more than double his salary to help him offset state retirement insurance costs. Kilgore currently makes $30,900 per year, but Willis proposed figures as high as $70,000. The aldermen did not take action on his salary during the meeting.
In lieu of giving raises to the additional four town marshals, Kilgore requested increasing the total allowable man hours from 170 to 190.
The aldermen also voted to rescind the water-rate increase they passed in July, with Coleman saying the Public Service Commission had informed them “it”s not going to fly like it is.” Under the proposed structure, which would have increased the flat rate to $7.25 per 1,000 gallons, the commission felt the water rates were subsidizing the sewer system, which Coleman said is not true.
Coleman said it cost nearly $1,000 for the water department to send notices to customers about the rate increase, which the board rescinded Tuesday night at his request and the PSC”s recommendation.
In other matters, the aldermen also granted permission for the Caledonia schools to hold a fundraiser at Ola J. Pickett Park on Nov. 19, with games and food, to benefit a Caledonia teacher diagnosed with cancer. The board also denied a request for a credit application from Sherwin-Williams to purchase luminescent paint for the soccer fields.
Carmen K. Sisson is the former news editor at The Dispatch.
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