Friday, January 18, 2019
GIRARD
City council approved a second reading of an ordinance to apply for a brownfield restoration grant this week.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant is being sought to fund restoration and hazardous substance cleanup for the former Ohio Leatherworks property.
The ordinance language also was amended to allow the city to allocate up to $100,000 in city funds as a local share.
“We will apply for funding later this year,” Mayor James Melfi said.
The city hasn’t determined which city fund the allocated money will come from, he said.
In other business, council voted 6-1 to approve the 2019-2021 union contract with the city’s fire department. Councilman William Ryser cast the opposing vote.
This year, fire department employees will receive a raise of 55 cents per hour; in 2020, they will receive 40 cents more per hour; and in 2021, they will receive another 40-cent-per-hour raise, Melfi said.
Firefighter wages will range from $36,540 at the low end to a high of $48,720 this year. In 2021, wages will range from $37,788 to $50,384. The fire department has 12 firefighters and one chief.
Melfi noted city workers received no pay raises for the past nine years.
“The city’s finances are not in the condition of those difficult fiscal emergency years; we are in a much more stable financial condition,” he said.
The $150 lump sum on-call pay for firefighters was eliminated, he said. The pay was given annually to firefighters for always having their phones off-duty in case they were needed.
The hospitalization policy also was changed, Melfi said. If a firefighter’s spouse is eligible for health care at his or her employer, they must take that health care.