MENTONE – Town employees in Mentone will get a raise in 2012 afterall.
During the June 20th budget hearing, the town council provided no salary increases for town employees across the board in the preliminary 2012 budget.
Tuesday night, Council President Tim Croy opened up the meeting for discussion on employee wages.
Kent Ganshorn, councilman, said the town needs to compensate its people. He said the police department is doing well, and the street department is doing well with less people. He said both needed to be compensated for their work.
The council represents the town, Croy said, and the town has said the street department needs to be compensated for its work.
“And they’re all a good bunch of people,” he said.
Ganshorn suggested a 1 percent raise for the police department and 3 percent for the street department.
“It’s not a lot, but it shows our appreciation for what they’re doing,” Ganshorn said.
During the budget hearing June 20, the council also increased the Motor Vehicle Highway fund by $1,000. Last night, Croy said he agrees with Ganshorn on the percentage wages, but also wants Utilities Superintendent Eric Carlin and utilities employee Josh Shepherd to have $500 each from that MVH fund increase.
Town Marshal Jim Eads was not present at Tuesday night’s meeting, Ganshorn said, and he hates that, but he asked the town employees present for their thoughts.
Terry Engstrand, deputy, said if the council knows of any improvements they can make to let them know. He said the town is doing well all around. When he was first elected to the town board, Croy said, the council used to sit down with the police and utilities department for discussions. He said they need to get back to that.
“Our interest is in what’s best for the town,” Croy said.
Ganshorn made the motion to approve the raises for the town employees, and Croy provided the second. With councilwoman Jill Gross voting in favor, the motion was approved 3 to 0.
Engstrand also announced that two new reserve officers were selected.
After Eads and Engstrand went through the hiring process, he said Randy Bays and Sam Bohnke were selected.
Bays is from Mentone and a volunteer firefighter. He works at Creighton Brothers.
Bohnke, 23, is from Warsaw and a full-time employee at Chore-Time Brock. He also attends school part-time for criminal justice.
Engstrand said Bays and Bohnke will attend the county reserve academy in January at a cost of about $200 per reserve.
There was a total of eight people who applied for the two reserve positions. Engstrand said the town got two good ones.
After some vandalism at the town park and in the town, Engstrand said, the Mentone Youth League offered a monetary award for help in identifying and capturing the culprits. Shortly after the award was announced, the police department got three of the four suspects to confess to the vandalism.
The fourth suspect refused to confess, and charges will be filed against that suspect. The three suspects who confessed will just do community service for the Mentone Youth League and the town.
Engstrand thanked the MYL for their efforts.
“Hopefully,” he said, “it comes to an end here.”
One of the items vandalized was the drinking fountain at the northwest corner of Main and Broadway streets in front of the post office.
After some discussion, it was decided the drinking fountain will be eliminated as it is no longer in use and is beginning to deteriorate.
