MENTONE – Mentone Town Marshal Jim Eads said it was a “slap in the face” that he and his deputy, Terry Engstrand, only got 1 percent raises from the town.
Eads aired his grievance during Mentone’s monthly town council meeting Monday night.
Town councilman Kent Ganshorn said the reason the police department got a 1 percent raise and the utilities department got a 3 percent raise was because the police department’s salaries were comparable to those of other similarly sized police departments statewide.
Conversely, Ganshorn said the salaries for the utilities department were lagging as compared to state averages and the town was trying to make up that disparity.
“Our police department is one of the lowest paid in the county,” said Eads who as marshal makes $41,058 a year. “So what you’re saying is we make too much and they make too little.”
Engstrand makes $35,797 a year.
“We had an executive meeting and you said we did a good job,” said Eads.
Town council president Tim Croy said while the police department is doing a good job, an issue of Engstrand using his police car for personal use was brought up.
Croy said that situation hasn’t been fixed yet. Eads said it has.
Croy said Engstrand has taken his town vehicle to Warsaw for work he does with the jail museum as well as to little league games.
“When he’s doing those things he’s representing the town,” said Eads.
“When he’s in plain clothes, coaching a team, that’s not police business,” said Croy.
“You need to make a list of what we can and can’t use (a town vehicle) for,” said Eads.
Eads said it was unfair to hold their salaries up because of the vehicle situation.
Eads said he has dealt with Engstrand using the car to go to Rochester.
Croy said that wasn’t the reason for 1-percent pay raise.
“I brought up the raises, then you bring this up,” said Eads. “I need a better definition of what personal use is.”
“On the same side, I feel when we’re off duty, we’re off duty, Tim,” said Eads.
“This isn’t any different than a few years back when you told me that,” said Croy.
“So if there’s a wreck or accident in the middle of town and I’m headed to the hardware store or something, I should ignore that?” asked Eads. “That’s what you’re saying?”
“That’s not what I’m saying,” said Croy. “That’s up to you.”
The council will meet at 6 p.m. Sept. 6 for a public hearing on the town’s budget.
Later in the meeting, the board discussed a situation with a home in town that is delinquent on its water bill by about eight months.
According to the council, a person, who no longer lives there full time, has a dialysis machine there. The town received a letter from a physician asking them not to shut off the water because of the machine.
But the town council learned that the person on dialysis lives in Warsaw and comes to Mentone to use the machine while someone else lives there.
Utilities Superintendent Eric Carlin said that while he will shut off someone’s water when he’s told, he’d have a problem doing that in this situation.
The home is rented and the water bill is in the owner George Reed’s name.
The council directed town attorney Larry Beeson to draft a letter to Reed to see how this situation could be solved.
