Donora delays raise for part-time officers

By KRISTIE LINDEN

klinden@yourmvi.com

Donora Council rescinded a motion to give part-time officers in the borough a raise so more thought could go into the implementation of the potential wage increase.

The move was made during a special meeting called Monday night just for that motion.

Council voted to grant the increase during its voting meeting May 13. At that meeting, council agreed to increase the existing wage rate from $17.50 an hour to $22 per hour. The move was retroactive to the beginning of the year.

Council Vice President Jane Ackerman made the motion, she said, because the original vote was taken without any prior discussion.  

Councilman Donnie Pavelko, who made the motion earlier this month, said there was a lengthy discussion before the vote was taken to increase the pay rate. 

“Are we going to change the amount (of the raise) or let it go back the way it was?” Councilwoman Cindy Brice asked.

Ackerman said they would let the rate return to $17.50 and then council would discuss it “as it should have been done.”

Council President Mike McDowell said he needed more information on how to do the pay hike rather than giving all part-timers the same raise at the same time. He said there were some issues after the vote was taken earlier this month among officers who didn’t understand who the raise did or didn’t apply to.

“We shouldn’t be taking part-timers who have been here a long time up (the pay scale) at the same time as new part-timers,” McDowell said.

“We sat there and we talked about it and we agreed upon it,” Pavelko said.

To read the rest of the story, please see a copy of Tuesday’s Mon Valley Independent, call 724-314-0035 to subscribe or subscribe to our online edition at http://monvalleyindependent.com.