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Warsaw City Council approved an amendment to the municipal salary ordinance Thursday, allowing the heads of the public works and aviation departments to increase employee wages.
The salary adjustment authority is for a one-time raise effective Oct. 15. The action was taken to help those departments compete with the private sector for qualified employees.
"With the labor market we have today, we're finding it very difficult to compete with the surrounding communities in terms of wages," said Mayor Ernie Wiggins. "This is something that the budget can support and we need to pay them more to keep them."
The city salary ordinance stipulates pay increases can take place only on Jan. 1 and June 1 of each year, and those increases must be approved by the council.
In other business, the council approved the annexation ordinances for the U.S. 30 Industrial Corridor, in the vicinity of the U.S. 30/CR 150W intersection. This includes the site of the new Sofamor-Danek facility.
The council also approved the annexation resolution for the 46-acre Haines farm tract on Husky Trail. The property is being developed as a residential subdivision.
Finally, the council approved a resolution authorizing the Board of Public Works and Safety to pursue the purchase of the old NIPSCO building, 2191 E. Fort Wayne St. The city will move most city offices to that location if the purchase is successfully completed.
