On the August 17 M&C Public Meeting, ordinance #1455 was passed 5-1-0. While it was a relief to hear that council members decided to keep their salaries unchanged, it appeared that salaries were increased 3.5% for the staff at borough hall not under collective bargaining. Though the borough administrator added that the staff now contribute 1.5% of their salaries into their healthcare benefits (where there was no contribution before), I consider myself very fortunate that I do not have to try justifying that these are "tough terms" to someone who is either underemployed or unemployed and struggling to make ends meet.
Big deal, you say. Why is this crazy blogger making a big deal out of seemingly nothing? So we just pay a few dollars more, the staff is doing their job. Is that not worth the aggravation?
For those who saw the estimated tax bill and can easily handle the new payment, let's see what our administration is paying for "performance" in a future post.
P.S. Those seeking adventure may find instructions on repealing this ordinance via referendum here. By the time you have figured out how, it is probably too late.