Pekin looks to keep wage expenses in check

Pekin looks to keep wage expenses in check Mayor Laurie Barra said that contracting out city services is one of the few ways that a municipality has to keep employee costs down. A team of city leaders - the city manager, human resources director and assistant city manager - negotiate union contracts. Contracts ultimately are subject to council approval. Contrary to rumors, the city manager's annual salary increase is not linked to the salary increases of the employees covered by the contracts the manager negotiates. Pekin City Attorney Burt Dancey said every council has different criteria when it comes to approving raises in contracts, including the economic conditions in the community, the economic status of the city government at the time of the negotiations, the contract that the newly negotiated contract will replace and all other city labor contracts. Assistant City Manager Darin Girdler said councils also look at what other cities in the region are awarding for pay increases. If the city and a union cannot come to an agreement, they must call in a mediator to determine the contract based on what other municipalities are paying. "I see the mediation as a positive," said Dancey. Dancey said municipalities have a way to keep wages in check. Under the contractual service, the company's employees would be paid minimum wage plus 75 cents - a far cry from the $19 an hour plus benefits janitors who work for the city are paid. Under the contract, the company would provide all supplies and equipment to clean the facilities. The city would pay extra for deep cleaning, stripping and refinishing the floors once a year. Mayor Laurie Barra said that contracting out city services is one of the few ways that a municipality has to keep employee costs down. Their pay would have dropped from $19 an hour to $14. 50 an hour. Based on square footage, the cost for that would be $23,678, bringing the savings down to about $120,000. Pekin City Manager Joe Wuellner was ordered by the council to find way to cut costs when he was promoted to city manager in 2011. "What it does, however, is make us realize that we have to look at comparable facts and factors in communities around us because that is where the mediator is going to try to get us. A mediator does not look at what the private sector pays, said Dancey. "The city is over here and we are looking to protect what we have, which is the city taxpayers' money. Girdler said a good deal of thought goes into city contracts with the unions. "We do not want to cause further grief during the negotiating process or to push us into mediation if we do not have to," he said. The city would pay for a Pekin Police Department-issued ID badge at $6 each and background check for $15. "Keep in mind that we have six different collective bargaining contracts - four for the Teamsters, one for fire and one for police. '". Pekin looks to keep wage expenses in check Trade News selected by Local Linkup on 03/04/2012