City employees receive bonuses

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

GREENCASTLE -- City employees are receiving a reward for their efforts to keep Greencastle's budget in check over the last year.

The Greencastle Common Council voted Tuesday to give a bonus of $550 to full-time employees and $275 to part-time employees. The bonus goes to those who have been employed since Jan. 1 and does not apply to elected or appointed officials.

"When you can't give them a salary increase and they have worked very hard to do the things they have done all year to keep overtime under control and worked smarter without rehiring, it was something everybody felt good about being able to do for our employees," Mayor Sue Murray said.

The mayor said the ability to give the bonuses stems from the money-saving measures all city employees have been a part of over the course of 2010.

"We found as we got to the end of the year because we hadn't been rehiring positions, we hadn't used overtime and we made adjustments in what we had allocated for our health insurances, that there was money left in the salary services area of each of the budgets," Murray said. "I asked the council to consider giving employees who have been with us since Jan. 1 a one-time salary addition."

The council also updated the zoning ordinance regarding signs. Church signage had previously been regarded as a special exception usage, which meant any church signage had to go before the city to be accepted. Church signs are now considered an acceptable use.

The ordinance also has updated language regarded signs with moving or changing pictures. Besides time and temperature signs, these remain prohibited.

The council also approved some resolutions as the end of the budget year approaches.

Transfers of appropriations included:

* $1,000 in the common council budget from copier rental to office supplies

* $6,100 in the board of works budget from electric to disability insurance

* $2,500 in parks and recreation from part time salaries to repair

* $2,500 in parks and recreation from part time salaries to sales tax

They also approved the following encumbrances:

* $3,030 for vehicle repairs in the police budget

* $6,500 for the installation of a generator in the police budget

* $3,100 for sidewalks in cumulative capital development

* $507.20 for education and training in the city attorney budget

The city has also been asked by the state to look at a 12.7 percent decrease in EDIT money, so the council approved a change to the fund

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  • Now fix the pot holes!

    -- Posted by 1stamendrights on Thu, Dec 16, 2010, at 12:26 AM
  • Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all Greencastle officials and staff! Thanks for all that you do.

    -- Posted by Lookout on Thu, Dec 16, 2010, at 8:03 AM
  • Wow!!! Good for them..maybe someone at Putnam Co Hospital will get word of this and do something for their employees?? They have all worked very hard at cutting costs too. They have not had raises for two years and have not gotten a Christmas bonus for this year. They work hard everyday, most of them short-staffed, and they are not rewarded for their great efforts.

    -- Posted by snowgurl452 on Thu, Dec 16, 2010, at 12:46 PM
  • FIX THE ROADS! HOW CAN WE KEEP CITY EMPLOYEES WHEN THERE IS NO MONEY TO FIX OUR ROADS? SUMMER NO MOWING AND NOW IT IS WINTER WITH NO PLOWING OR SALT/SAND? BUT WE HAVE MONEY FOR BONUSES....

    -- Posted by cato on Thu, Dec 16, 2010, at 2:15 PM
  • They should be very grateful to the taxpayers. My co-workers and myself have had no pay raises since 07, 20% increases to our health ins premiums and no bonus's. Thats the ones like me that didnt lose their jobs over the past few years. Merry Christmas to all of the privately employed citizens in Greencastle and Putnam County.....have a safe holiday season.

    -- Posted by G-boy2008 on Thu, Dec 16, 2010, at 3:05 PM
  • I'm sure they are grateful, but they also pay taxes, too.

    -- Posted by ProblemTransmission on Thu, Dec 16, 2010, at 4:43 PM
  • GLAD TO HEAR IT....THEY CERTAINLY DESERVE IT!

    -- Posted by Michele1953 on Thu, Dec 16, 2010, at 7:04 PM
  • I am sure that the workers appreciate the bonus as would I, but most of us taxpayers working in the private sector haven't got raises or bonuses in a few years. I appreciate that they are working smarter now but they should have been doing that from the beginning. If that would have been the case maybe we wouldn't be in as bad of shape as we are. I think most workers private and government have got a little lazy in the last 20 or so years, instead of just doing a job they would rather figure out a way to get out of it and still get paid. Whatever happened to an honest wage for an honest days work, I was taught that by my grandfather and I have always tried to follow it.

    -- Posted by T.C. FATHER OF 2 on Thu, Dec 16, 2010, at 10:10 PM
  • Really?

    Please give a salary to the slugs that were on the side of my porch all summer...

    the have done more work than many of the people receiving these bonuses....

    -- Posted by BlackBarbie22 on Tue, Dec 21, 2010, at 11:05 AM
  • BlackBarbie22:

    You are an angry panda!

    To everyone else with bad words:

    Yes, yes. We all know. You pay taxes therefore, their salaries. Blah, blah and blah. Really? That argument is way outdated. You should consider the fact that you are not a police officer. You do not risk your life every shift. You do not come out when the weather is bad and help people. You do not handle the thousands of cases that they do. Do they deserve a bonus? Umm, yes. 100% well deserved and overdue!!

    -- Posted by WTFRUthinkin on Tue, Dec 21, 2010, at 11:00 PM
  • SNOWGURL: I agree, however, if Putnam Co Hospital would quit taking so many worthless, parasitic Medicaid patients as well as "self-pay" (no insurance) patients, then maybe they would be in a better financial state so that they could offer their employees incentives. Instead, they want to write off medical bills and OFFER to eat the cost of your hospital care or procedure!! A hospital is a place of business, when your business is wasting money on people perfectly capable of paying their medical bills, you're NOT going to have ANY money left over for your employees. PCH is going down the drain...

    -- Posted by taxpayer21 on Thu, Dec 23, 2010, at 1:00 PM
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