Employees of one Southeast Missouri city to get 9 percent pay raises over 3 years

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Ernestine Arnold appreciates the work of city employees, but is concerned how Poplar Bluff can afford pay raises totaling 9 percent over three years.

"Where will the city find the money for these increases for the next three years?" Arnold asked the Poplar Bluff City Council Monday night.

She also expressed concern about the city providing medical insurance coverage to age 65 for any employee who retires early.

"This comes at a time when the nation is facing a slow economy and high unemployment," said Arnold, who also noted the city's sales tax revenue has leveled off.

Arnold urged council members to "go back to the bargaining table and ask for a one-year contract."

City Manager Doug Bagby acknowledged sales tax revenue has been level, but "I don't anticipate sales tax revenue to be the same during the entire contract."

Bagby plans to present "a balanced budget" for 2011 at the Dec. 6 council meeting.

"Everything in the contracts is funded," said Bagby, who added early retirees "save money" because the city replaces them with lower paid employees.

Bagby assured the council "there has been a tremendous amount of research by me and finance officer Mark Massingham" in going over the contracts and the preliminary budget.

Patrick Lynch of St. Charles, Mo., the business representative for the International Union of Operating Engineers, met with Bagby during the negotiating sessions.

"I thought we came to a reasonable compromise," said Lynch, as he urged for council approval.

Without any discussion, council members voted 5-0 to approve a three-year contract with Local 148 of the International Union of Operating Engineers which represents employees of the street, motor pool and cemetery departments.

Mayor Pro Tem Ed DeGaris abstained from voting because his son works for the street department. Councilman Loyd Matthews was absent.

By a 6-0 vote, the council approved a three-year contract with Local 2543 of the International Association of Firefighters which represents the city firefighters.

At the Nov. 1 council meeting, Matthews expressed concern about having money for the raises and voted against moving both contracts to the next voting session.

Both contracts cover the period from Oct. 1, 2010, through Sept. 30, 2013. They provide for a 2 percent raise the first year, 3 percent the second year and 4 percent the third year.

Non-union city employees will receive the same raises. Bagby expects the increases for all city employees will be slightly more than $500,000 over the three years.

Patricia Damewood questioned why the city decided not to have a fall trash cleanup.

"If you can afford raises, you could find $5,000 to do Buff Up The Bluff," Damewood told the council.

She expressed concern about residents dumping along rural roads if the city did not have a fall cleanup.

Bagby said the city decided to have one cleanup in the spring in order to save on labor costs for street department workers who work during Buff Up The Bluff.

He also said the higher tipping fees for disposing of the trash at a landfill near Dexter caused the city to look at one cleanup per year.

At the Oct. 4 meeting, City Planner Dennis Avery said the city spent $9,250 in landfill costs during the spring cleanup. The average cost had been $5,000.

Bagby said the city may consider going "back to two times a year" in the future.