ANDERSON, Ind. —
The city needs additional funds to pay for slight increases in firefighter salaries, as well as $2.35 million for the fire and police pension funds. Thursday night at a city council meeting, a funding suggestion was proposed for the latter, but no solution was determined for the first.
Wayne Huffman, the city’s human resources director, and Sam Pellegrino, the controller, presented an ordinance to fund the firefighter salary increase. But the ordinance was tabled so the city could determine where to find the money.
Under the new contract agreed upon between the fire department union and the city near the end of last year, emergency medical technician (EMT) tech pay would change from $504 a year to 2.25 percent of their base pay. Additionally, longevity pay would increase from $162.50 to $200 a year, Huffman said.
An additional $101,746 is required to satisfy those increases, Huffman said, according to figures the fire department provided.
Councilman David Eicks asked Pellegrino whether he felt comfortable about the city funding the increases. Pellegrino noted that the funds are not in the budget and that the city would have to make allocations. The state has not yet certified and returned the city’s submitted 2012 budget, he said.
“We will have to make cuts or get more money approved by the state, but we have to prove we have the funds,” Pellegrino said.
Eicks suggested that the ordinance be tabled for a month, and the council voted unanimously to do so.
A resolution regarding pension funding was also tabled Thursday night.
The resolution requested a temporary loan to help fill the lack of cash flow in the fire pension fund and police pension fund. The resolution characterizes the situation as an emergency, suggesting it is necessary to borrow money from the redevelopment tax increment financing (TIF) levy fund.
The loan would be $1.45 million to the fire pension fund and $900,000 to the police pension fund, according to the resolution.
The resolution states the money would be repaid to the TIF levy fund by Dec. 31.
But Greg Winkler, the interim economic development director, said before the meeting that TIF statute states that “the council does not have lawful authority to utilize TIF funds; that is the authority of the Anderson Redevelopment Commission.”
City attorney Jason Childers asked the council to table the resolution, and council complied.
Contact Melanie D. Hayes: 648-4250, melanie.hayes@heraldbulletin.com.
Local Politics
Related Photos
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Greg Winkler, interim economic development director, shows the City Council a pie chart describing where the city's economic development leads come from during a council meeting on Thursday. Don Knight
Discussion
City seeks $2.45 million for salaries, pensions
Council tables requests for additional funding
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