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Hubbard mayor, council lock horns over raises for 2 workers
HUBBARD — Mayor Arthur Magee said he is concerned that one council member’s personal dislike for him may be standing in the way of fair pay to some employees and business practices here overall.
Magee in 2007 gave pay raises of 3.5 percent to his secretary and the road department superintendent. The two employees are not covered under the collective bargaining agreements covering other city employees, but Magee issued them equal increases in pay.
“It just reached a point where I thought it unfair that everyone in the city received pay raises except for these two individuals,” said Magee.
Councilman Patton Gilliland took issue with the pay increases given by Magee, saying all increases in pay should be approved by council.
An opinion from city Law Director Jeff Adler called language governing raises to nonunion employees in accordance with union employees “ambiguous.” He said the issue is up to the administration but can be changed by council if council does not like the administration’s decision.
Council also paid several thousand dollars for a second opinion on the matter — which yielded similar findings — from an outside law firm. Ultimately, council passed legislation to rescind the pay raises two weeks ago.
Magee said opposition to the increases in pay was led by Gilliland, and the strong opposition was simply to oppose Magee as mayor because of a personal dislike or vendetta.
“These two people are outstanding employees. What has been done to them has been done strictly for politics and because he is after me,” said Magee.
Gilliland, who is also chairman of the finance committee, said that any decision he has made as a member of council has had nothing to do with any personal feelings toward the mayor.
Gilliland points out that every member of council voted to rescind the pay raises and that council knew nothing of the raises until a year after they had been granted.
“If this is a vendetta, I would like to know what he means by vendetta,” the councilman said. “When he is right I am with him, but when he is wrong, I am against it.”
Gilliland said he is operating strictly under statute that says any pay raises must be approved by council.
Magee said he is looking into the matter and wants to see the pay increases reinstated, but he is reluctant to bring the matter before council again because it may not receive the needed majority votes.
jgoodwin@vindy.com