Plain City officials are planning to bump pay for part-time and seasonal employees, in accordance with an increase to minimum wage.
Council heard the first reading of a resolution Monday that will increase minimum pay for this category of employees from $9 to $10.10. The middle pay range will jump from $14.69 to $15.79 and the maximum pay will go from $20.38 to $21.48.
Village Administrator Haley Lupton noted that the intervals remain the same, but the wages needed to be updated to align with new minimum wage requirements.
She added that administration wanted to bring the changes before council to ensure wage updates are in place before hiring begins for pool staff ahead of the summer season.
Council member Michael Terry, who also sits on the Personnel and Finance Committee, noted that the group already budgeted for these increases, which will be similar to cost of living adjustment (COLA) raises.
Terry said the committee also considered updating council procedures so that wages will automatically increase in accordance with minimum wage requirements.
Council member Frank Reed agreed with the suggestion, noting that council must abide by the minimum wage requirement so he feels a formal approval is an unnecessary step.
Lupton said the ordinance can be amended so the second reading will include language dictating automatic changes according to minimum wage standards.
In other business:
– Council tabled the second reading of a pre-annexation agreement with Wilcox Investment Group.
Jonathan Wilcox, with Wilcox Communities, approached council at a recent work session to share his intent to develop 112 acres on Lafayette-Plain City Road into a residential neighborhood with 226 single-story apartment units, 80 patio homes and 145 traditional single-family homes.
At the time, Wilcox said the pre-annexation agreement would allow Wilcox Communities to file for annexation with the county. Developers could then work through the village’s zoning process concurrently.
On Monday, Wilcox told council that an old exhibit denoting the area that would be annexed was accidentally attached to the proposed agreement but the accurate one has since been emailed to village administration.
Lupton said a corrected agreement will be ready and appear before council during its work session Wednesday.
– Council approved a supplemental budget update, which was previously reviewed and approved by the Personnel and Finance Committee and approved in its advisory capacity.
The update includes a correction on the fund analysis page of the 2023 budget document, which results in a higher estimated ending balance for the year.
Actual ending balances were updated throughout the spreadsheet, while local government distribution and interest earnings were updated to better reflect actual revenue from the previous year.
The transfer to the police fund was also increased “due to the lower-than-expected actual account balance,” according to a memo from Lupton.
Additionally, the amount budgeted for the purchase of a plow truck was updated to $200,000 instead of $150,000 after the village received quotes that were higher than expected.
The item denoting a grant from the Union County Health Department for the Plain City Farmers Market was increased to $4,000 from $2,000.