Girard council approves raises

Staff report

GIRARD

Council approved 7 percent pay raises for the city’s administration and council members, which will take effect in January 2020.

These approvals came during a special meeting Monday night:

The city auditor’s annual salary will be $47,251.

Service director’s annual salary will be $57,946.

Law director’s will be $35,331 with health care benefits, or $42,426 without health care benefits.

The law director’s raise will be effective June 1. Because he is not an elected official he is able to get a raise. Elected officials are not permitted to receive raises during their terms.

The mayor’s annual salary will be $52,997.

All of the above raises were approved unanimously.

Council’s pay raise will allow members to meet the minimum pay that qualifies public employees for the Ohio Public Employee Retirement System. The raise will be from about $633 a month to $675 a month, which would bring their annual salaries to $8,100. The council president will make $8,101.

The raise won’t take effect until next year because the elected officials are in their current terms.

Fourth Ward Councilman Thomas Grumley voted no to the increases for council and council president.

“It’s no reflection on the amount of work these people do, but I don’t believe we should be chasing after the OPERS,” he said.

Councilman at Large William Ryser said he supports all the raises because “it’s fundamental to be a first-class city and to attract first-class people and compensate them for authority we are empowering them with.”