During their meeting on September 25, the Plymouth City Council was able to come to a unanimous agreement on pay-raises for Plymouth’s Fire Department and Police Department personnel. The raises will take effect in 2018.
The matter had come up in previous meeting when a committee consisting of Don Ecker, Gary Cook and Bill Walters made a recommendation; however, council member Jeff Houin questioned their recommendation of implementing in July, 2017 saying they were in the midst of a salary survey and consideration of the 2018 budget.
Speaking for the committee on Monday night, Ecker said, “There was a lot of give and take.” He added that they considered what the city has to do to retain employees and to be competitive in the marketplace. According to Ecker, the results from the surveys showed both low and high salary ranges, He said, “We are not looking to be the highest paid employees in town.”
Audience member Wilson Gerard questioned if the city can afford raises. Eckert said they had met with the City Clerk/Treasurer. He said, “We are looking at sustainability. We need to do this in a systematic way.”
Carol Anders Correspondent
