By Tim O’Meilia
South Palm Beach’s nine non-police-union workers will get a 2 percent pay increase and a $1,500 bonus to help them keep pace with their collective bargaining brethren, the Town Council decided by a 4-1 vote Aug. 22.
The money was included in the $2.1 million 2013-’14 budget approved by the council in September, but the council did not specify the amount then. The hike is the first in five years for the employees.
The four members of the town’s Palm Beach County Police Benevolent Association’s bargaining unit received a lump-sum $1,500 recently and will get another $1,000 bump in the new budget. The police also will reopen salary negotiations this year.
“We can tell our employees we appreciate them but we have to make an effort to show them that we appreciate them,” said Vice Mayor Joseph Flagello. “To delay this any more almost becomes a slap in the face.”
Councilwoman Stella Jordan opposed the move, wanting to delay the pay increase until all town employees’ pay was evaluated. “We currently have large gaps in some of our salaries and we need to ensure that all of our employees are properly compensated,” she said.
She said the town has to deal with the prospect of a pay raise for the police union, the possibility of hiring a new worker and paying a new town clerk.
“This is a well-deserved raise. I call it a token raise,” said Mayor Donald Clayman. Councilwoman Bonnie Fischer agreed.
In other business, the council:
• Postponed unanimously until November a resolution requiring the licensing and registration of so-called sober houses and background checks for owners and operators. The Florida League of Cities and Gov. Rick Scott have urged the rules, referring to controversial incidents involving insurance fraud, patient brokering and others. Flagello said the rehabilitation houses, designed to give a temporary home to recovering addicts, are often being singled out unfairly by neighbors. Both Flagello and Councilwoman Bonnie Fischer, whose business in Lake Worth operates near a sober house, favored some oversight of the centers but wanted a closer examination of the town’s proposed rules. None are known to operate in town. Resident Craig Henne, who formerly owned a rehabilitation center, said most are closely controlled by their owners and are unfairly scrutinized. “This is a NIMBY issue,” said Henne, referring to a “not in my backyard” attitude of neighbors. “ ‘We don’t want them near us’ is the attitude,” he said.
In Lantana, the Town Council did vote on Oct. 28 to send a letter to the governor asking him to support regulation of recovering residences/sober houses in the form of state-wide licensing/registration. Lantana Mayor Dave Stewart said the letter was in support of the League of Cities initiative.
• Concurred with Town Manager Rex Taylor’s appointment of Yudy Alvarez as town clerk, although the council called for a probationary six months. Alvarez, 29, has been deputy town clerk since 2008 and was first hired in 2006 as the town’s permit clerk. She will earn $45,000 annually and was recently designated a certified town clerk by the Florida Association of City Clerks.
• Retained unanimously Town Attorney Brad Biggs, who recently left the town’s law firm of Corbett, White and Davis to start his own law practice. Biggs also represents the Village of Golf.
• Moved the council meeting dates for the next two months to Nov. 19 and Dec. 27, both at 7:15 p.m.
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