MONROE - Nine department heads will receive a one-time bonus this year, if the Common Council votes to approve the payments.
The Salary and Personnel Committee made its recommendation Tuesday, after Charles Koch, committee chairman, presented the idea "to reward them (department heads) for their hard work and coming in under budget."
In total, the city will spend about $11,500 on the bonuses for the department heads. That amount includes the city's employer portion toward Social Security and retirement. The highest amount given to any individual will be about $1,200.
Koch noted that the department heads had not been given a pay increase in three years and said he believes the cost will be covered easily by the amount the departments have underspent in the 2011 budget. Exactly how much the city saved last year will not be known until the 2011 budget audit is finished.
"We're in good shape from last year," Koch said. "(Spending the savings for bonuses) is not a politically popular thing to do ... but sometimes you got to do what's right."
The motion to pay the bonuses passed the committee by a vote of 3-1, with Tyler Schultz voting against.
Schultz said he based his vote on the current unemployment figures and economy.
"I'd like to pursue such a recommendation when the economy improves," he said, "when not so many people are unemployed."
Koch said he brought up the idea of bonuses now because the committee never seems to have time during the budget process to attend to salary and wages. Union contracts are negotiated just before the fall budget process begins in earnest. Salary and wages, benefits and other employment costs are usually put into the budget first, to allow supervisors to work out the rest of their departmental budgets, before sending the full budget to the Salary and Personnel Committee for review.
The committee also noted that 16 city employees have retired or quit since 2010, and six of those positions have not been replaced. The duties of those unfilled positions have been given to other employees during a time when no raises were given.
The nine positions selected to receive a bonus of 2 percent based on the employee's base salary include the police chief, police lieutenant, city clerk, treasurer, and the department supervisors of engineering, street, park, recreation and senior center.
The committee did not include utility supervisors, whose salaries are paid by the utility fees; nor did they include supervisory positions that have been recently filled at salary levels competitive with job market values.
The Common Council is expected to consider the recommendation next week.
The Salary and Personnel Committee made its recommendation Tuesday, after Charles Koch, committee chairman, presented the idea "to reward them (department heads) for their hard work and coming in under budget."
In total, the city will spend about $11,500 on the bonuses for the department heads. That amount includes the city's employer portion toward Social Security and retirement. The highest amount given to any individual will be about $1,200.
Koch noted that the department heads had not been given a pay increase in three years and said he believes the cost will be covered easily by the amount the departments have underspent in the 2011 budget. Exactly how much the city saved last year will not be known until the 2011 budget audit is finished.
"We're in good shape from last year," Koch said. "(Spending the savings for bonuses) is not a politically popular thing to do ... but sometimes you got to do what's right."
The motion to pay the bonuses passed the committee by a vote of 3-1, with Tyler Schultz voting against.
Schultz said he based his vote on the current unemployment figures and economy.
"I'd like to pursue such a recommendation when the economy improves," he said, "when not so many people are unemployed."
Koch said he brought up the idea of bonuses now because the committee never seems to have time during the budget process to attend to salary and wages. Union contracts are negotiated just before the fall budget process begins in earnest. Salary and wages, benefits and other employment costs are usually put into the budget first, to allow supervisors to work out the rest of their departmental budgets, before sending the full budget to the Salary and Personnel Committee for review.
The committee also noted that 16 city employees have retired or quit since 2010, and six of those positions have not been replaced. The duties of those unfilled positions have been given to other employees during a time when no raises were given.
The nine positions selected to receive a bonus of 2 percent based on the employee's base salary include the police chief, police lieutenant, city clerk, treasurer, and the department supervisors of engineering, street, park, recreation and senior center.
The committee did not include utility supervisors, whose salaries are paid by the utility fees; nor did they include supervisory positions that have been recently filled at salary levels competitive with job market values.
The Common Council is expected to consider the recommendation next week.