CROTHERSVILLE — The Crothersville Town Council was presented the 2023 salary ordinance for town employees earlier this month.
Members, however, agreed to table the matter until September.
That’s so they could meet with each employee individually for evaluations during an executive session.
The decision was made after Utility Director Mason Boicourt suggested the council start conducting evaluations, setting aside time to talk to each employee about their job and determine what they feel they deserve to earn paywise.
“With you guys, you’re not micromanagers, so you’re not going to be out there watching over everybody, and you don’t know what people do day to day, so who better knows than the person themselves?” Boicourt said. “For me, my standpoint is my position is still kind of a new position, and I don’t really have the job description. It changes daily. I want to know what’s expected.”
Council Vice President Jamy Greathouse went as far as to say maybe evaluations should be done twice a year just to touch base with all employees.
Coucilwoman Terry Richey said she didn’t like discussing what employees should or shouldn’t be paid in a public meeting, which had been done earlier in the meeting before Boicourt made his suggestion.
“It should come to the public when we know what we’re going to do,” Richey said.
When the ordinance initially was introduced, Greathouse made a motion for a 3.5% pay increase for all hourly employees outside of the police department, which has a separate pay matrix.
Richey seconded, but then Clerk-Treasurer Danieta Foster said she would like to see the hourly rate for the town hall’s lowest-paid employee, Second Deputy Katie Masters, to be increased.
That would be nearly $2 more per hour, resulting in a 10% increase.
“She brings a lot to the table in this office,” Foster said.
“She has worked her tail off to get us where we’re at,” First Deputy Michele Teipen added.
Councilman Aaron Mays then said if the council approved that, Boicourt deserved more, too, because of what all he has brought to the town in his position.
“There’s something about what somebody brings to the table. That’s just my two cents,” Mays said.
Richey said she had a problem with pulling one person out and giving them a nearly $2 raise and not everyone.
Greathouse said the town has made “significant improvement” in pay rates for employees, and he entertained the thought of incentivizing them if they obtain certain certifications or classifications related to their job.
“Those are some of the things that maybe we could look into to see if there are alternative routes and/or certain functions just to kind of open the door with some of that,” he said.
Greathouse then withdrew his motion and changed it to table the salary ordinance approval until the next meeting, set for 6 p.m. Sept. 6, and to set an executive session to conduct the evaluations.