Tuesday night was deja vu all over again as Columbus City Council held an at-times testy discussion about giving employees raises. But, in the end, no decision was made.
This time the issue came up in relation to the about $556,000 in federal CARES Act funding that the city received as reimbursement for pandemic-related expenses. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act was a $2.2 trillion stimulus bill passed during the Trump Administration in March 2020.
In December, Ward 2 Councilman Joseph Mickens asked City Attorney Jeff Turnage about using those funds for bonuses for city workers. When Turnage said he was not comfortable with that legally, the council asked him to come up with recommendations for legal ways to spend the money.
“You can’t pay bonuses with it, unless you’re the governor,” Turnage said Tuesday night. “… I really don’t recommend you do a bonus. I don’t think it’s legal. If you want to use it for pay raises, there is no prohibition on that.”
Mayor Keith Gaskin suggested the council form a committee to look at the issue of pay raises more deeply. He said he understood and shared the council’s desire to give raises, but there are “complexities in making this happen,” including the fact that it is one-time money and there is no clear way to guarantee the city could sustain the raises after the CARES Act funds ran out.
Human Resources Director Pat Mitchell also urged the council to tread carefully.
“I have tried to figure out a way to do this and be equitable and fair to all the employees,” she said. “I can figure it out for a 40-hour-a-week person, but then we have police officers and firefighters who consistently work overtime. I just don’t have a way of determining what the amount would be per person, plus the fringe, to add that onto their income.”
Mitchell also asked what would happen when the funds ran out.
“You will have employees who will expect it once they begin getting it,” she said. “What’s going to happen when it runs out?”
Ward 1 Councilwoman Ethel Taylor Stewart pushed back immediately, questioning both Gaskin’s and Mitchell’s reasoning.
“The way you are saying it, we are never going to be able to give a raise,” Stewart said. “Can it not be that next year there is money available? We’re not giving $7, it’s 75 cents.”
Gaskin said he didn’t think the city had a clear enough picture of city finances to make a decision now, citing the surprise shortfall discovered late in the budget process, former Chief Financial Officer Milton Rawle’s embezzlement and the fact that the city’s books still don’t balance due to issues with reconciliation.
“I don’t think it’s fair to keep dangling possible raises out there when we do not know what our financial situation is,” he said.
Gaskin again pushed for a committee to work out the details, but Stewart again pushed back.
“Discuss those details with us,” Stewart said. “You say you don’t advise we do it, (that) it’s not a good idea. Nobody is coming up with anything concrete. You’re saying you don’t know what’s in the general fund, we don’t know what’s in the reserve.”
“Are you suggesting we just go ahead and vote and just roll the dice and see if we can make it happen?” Gaskin asked.
“I’m suggesting someone come up with answers,” Stewart said.
Ward 5 Councilman Stephen Jones asked for Mitchell to get information on the total cost of a 75-cent raise together and give it to all the council members for them to review.
Mitchell argued that the amount of money paid to each person would fluctuate based on the number of hours they worked and whether or not they were paid overtime.
“I would hope that you would wait until we have a CFO,” Mitchell said.
“If that’s your thing, just say that,” Stewart said. “Just don’t keep saying you’re uncomfortable.”
“I think we need to wait for a CFO,” Gaskin said.
Mickens said he was fine with waiting until a CFO was in place, but said that raises were coming one way or another.
“Let me make this clear,” Mickens said. “We are going forward with these raises. We can give you a little bit more time. But the raises are going forward. … We got too many committees already, and all the committees are doing is kicking the can down the road.”
Meetings closed to the public again
The council voted 5-1 to close the meetings to the public again due to the drastic upswing in COVID-19 cases in the state. According to the Mississippi State Department of Health, there were 4,840 new cases reported on Jan. 3. The U.S. recently reported more 1 million new cases in a single day.
Stewart brought up the change, calling the numbers of infections “staggering.”
She suggested closing the meetings to all but essential personnel, and Jones agreed, saying he wanted the meetings closed “for at least the next couple of weeks.”
Jones made the motion, seconded by Stewart, to close the meetings. It passed 5-1, with Ward 6 Councilwoman Jacqueline DiCicco voting no.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 31 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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