Council votes 4-3 for pay hike

Colfax city council Monday night approved a $60 per month pay hike for city employees on a 4-3 vote. The pay increase, the first for city employees since 2008, will begin with the March paychecks.

The pay hike will go to 16 city employees who are not part of the police bargaining unit which was started last year and has been negotiating for an employment contract. The five police officers reportedly are in line for a three percent pay hike which would be retroactive to the start of the year when the contract is approved by the city council.

Councilman J.W. Roberts filed a motion for the pay increase at the end of Monday’s city council session. Roberts has pushed for the pay increase for several weeks. Council members David Nails, Jeannette Solimine and Albert Vorderbrueggen voted in favor. Earl Leland, Don Henderson and Thomas Huntwork voted against it.

When Roberts brought up the topic several weeks ago, he noted the city was about to realize some leeway in its payroll budget after a senior member of the public works department retired. However, the public works department hired veteran police officer Robert Wride so the public works payroll remained constant.

The city now expects to cover part of the pay hike cost from payroll savings which will be realized by leaving Wride’s slot on the police roster vacant for three months.