Pay raises left at 1 percent

CORNWALL — An adjustment and a decision were made this week by the selectmen on the 2011-12 municipal budget proposal.These tweaks will probably be the last they make before handing it to the Board of Finance for approval. The selectmen removed $10,000 from the snow removal line item (which was at $90,000). The town expects to save at least that amount now that it is mining much of its own road sand from a town-owned pit. A more controversial budget issue is a proposed salary increase for Town Hall employees. The selectmen originally proposed 2 percent. At the initial budget presentation to the Board of Finance, members there suggested a wage freeze be considered. The selectmen came back to the finance board on March 17 with a compromise of 1 percent. That launched quite a debate, with finance board members divided and a strongly worded letter from Tax Collector Jean Bouteiller raising new aspects of the issue. (For details, find the story online at The Lakeville Journal website, www.tcextra.com.)During the discussion it was noted that the six workers whose pay is at issue are the only people on town or school payrolls who are not in a union, and therefore have no one to advocate for their pay raises (the unionized employees are generally getting larger pay increases). It was also noted that the total increase for the 2 percent is about $10,000, a very small percentage of the total budget. Another point raised in the discussion was that these highly skilled employees need to be recognized for their dedication, and that Cornwall salaries are a little below the average for workers across the region.Finally , two finance members asked the selectmen to reconsider and propose 2 percent raises.But at the April 4 selectmen’s meeting, First Selectman Gordon Ridgway proposed the pay increases be left at 1 percent. Selectmen K.C. Baird and Richard Bramley quickly agreed. The selectmen take their budget proposal back to the finance board April 14 at 7:30 p.m. at Cornwall Consolidated School.

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