The Helper City Council virtually hosted its November meeting on Thursday evening. At this meeting, council members tackled the ongoing discussion of wages for city employees.
Helper City Recorder Jona Skerl had been previously asked, during a special meeting regarding the wages and budget on Oct. 15, to compile information on possible raises. Skerl sent the council members a pay scale showing a 3% and 6% increase. With this information in hand, Mayor Lenise Peterman stated that she was looking to the council for feedback on ways in which to proceed.
Councilwoman Michelle Goldsmith spoke first, stating that she would like for more time to review the list. Her request for time is to ensure that they are factoring in the cost of what the city is going to have for pay for these possible raises.
It was agreed that it is not certain where the money is in the budget at this time and further discussion is needed to decide how the funding could be gathered. The consensus was that wages should be raised, but all agreed that the matter needs to be tackled thoroughly to ensure that it makes sense.
“The deserving is not tough; they all deserve it. It is a case of ‘where does the money come from?’” said Mayor Peterman.
The council discussed more in depth which departments had received raises at what time and what departments had not. Ultimately, the decision was to host another work meeting within the coming month to discuss each department in depth and what the possible raises could be. A work meeting is slated for Nov. 19 at 5:15 p.m. and a special meeting will take place on Nov. 9 at 4 p.m.