Hubbard Council suspends raises for 2 workers

HUBBARD — City council has stopped pay raises ordered by the mayor for two city employees.

Council members, at a regular meeting tonight, introduced legislation to suspend a 3.5 percent 2008 pay raise for the mayor’s secretary and superintendent of streets. Second and third reading on the ordinance were suspended and the measure passed unanimously.

The mayor’s secretary and the superintendent of streets both received 3.5 percent raises in January 2007. The mayor had asked for an additional 3.5 percent pay increase for the employees in 2008, but that increase had been held up until council could act on last year’s raises.

Council members have said they did not learn of the raises granted in 2007 until early this year and did not give permission for them to be granted.

Mayor Arthur U. Magee said his decision to issue the increases in pay was made only after a large group of union employees received identical increases. He said it had been customary to issue salaried employees identical pay increases to union employees.

For the complete story, see Tuesday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com.