Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
The City of Palouse is at work on its 2020 budget, with Mayor Michael Echanove submitting a proposal Nov. 12 which includes raises above the three-percent-for-all-staff planned for three years ago.
He asked for eight percent for Dwayne Griffin, Public Works superintendent; 10 percent for Mike Wolf, Public Works assistant, and six percent for Kyle Dixon, city administrator, and Ann Thompson, city clerk.
The city council's personnel committee met on the subject earlier.
In front of the full council, Tim Sievers made a motion to direct Dixon to keep a three percent across the board raise into the next proposal for a 2020 budget. Councilman Bill Slinkard seconded it and the motion passed.
“They instructed Kyle to go down that route,” said Echanove.
A new budget proposal was set to be discussed Tuesday night at the city council meeting.
State law requires the city to have a budget passed by Dec. 31.
“I'm so lucky our budget is so that the biggest debate is how big a raise people are going to get,” Echanove said.
Each city employee received a five percent raise last year.
Echanove said he wanted to focus raises on Public Works for 2020 because of what he says is 12-year superintendent Griffin's work and that of two-year assistant Wolf.
“A drill sergeant would appreciate the way Dwayne's got the city running,” said Echanove. “And if I tell them something, they tell me to go stand in front of a road-grader.”
Echanove suggested he would make a counterproposal Tuesday on behalf of higher raises for the employees.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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