Starkville aldermen on Tuesday approved several cost-saving measures to limit the impact of the loss of sales tax revenue since most businesses are closed.

The measures are suspending pay raises the board approved for some city employees in September, a hiring freeze with the exceptions of two critical jobs and a suspension of all travel and equipment purchases except for ongoing projects. Each measure will last 60 days, but could be extended with a later vote.

The board will revisit the hiring freeze and suspension of travel and equipment purchases at its June 2 meeting, and the pay raises would be suspended through the pay period ending June 18. The raises are for specific city jobs, such as utility linemen, police and firefighters, that pay below the salary rate in similar or equivalent markets, according to a study the city authorized last year.

Sales tax revenue funds 41 percent of the city’s budget, and the city does not have a revenue source to make up for any sales tax losses, Ward 2 Alderman and budget chair Sandra Sistrunk said.

“I think these are very reasonable first steps (and) I honestly don’t think these will be the last steps we will have to take,” she said.

The travel and equipment suspension vote was unanimous, the hiring freeze vote was 6-1 and the pay raise suspension was 4-3. Perkins voted no on the latter two measures, and Ben Carver of Ward 1 and Henry Vaughn of Ward 7 also voted against the pay raise suspension.

Perkins said the scheduled pay raises would not have a serious impact on the city’s general fund and a hiring freeze would be more effective. He voted against the hiring freeze because of the two exemptions, the Parks and Recreation executive director and a water treatment operator in the utilities department, and he claimed the city did not need to fill both positions immediately. The city only has one water treatment operator at the moment, and former parks director Gerry Logan stepped down March 30.

Vaughn said he opposed the pay raise suspensions because police, firefighters and utility linemen should not be “the first line of defense” in an impending financial struggle when they are “out doing the real work.”

Spruill said she hopes the pandemic will die down in the next 60 days and allow the city to financially recover.

“I certainly understand the employee pay raises were something that they counted on and that we fought to give them, and I think it’s a shame that we find ourselves in this position, but I’d rather give it to them after we’re sure that we’re going to make it through this,” she said.

The aldermen also voted unanimously to extend paid administrative leave for city staff until at least the next meeting on April 21. They made the same unanimous decision at the March 17 meeting, and Spruill said Tuesday that she did not know if paid administrative leave would be sustainable much longer after the next meeting.

Sistrunk and Ward 3 Alderman David Little both said they might not support it if the board had to vote on it a third time but saw the need for it now.

“It’s important that people know that two weeks won’t make or break us, and it does give us an opportunity to have a better feel for how our revenues are going to shake out over the rest of the year,” Sistrunk said.

Tess Vrbin was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.

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