Syracuse Works On Department Salaries

SYRACUSE - Parity among the town of Syracuse's department salaries became a thorn in the side of the town council Tuesday during its budget workshop.

For the parks budget, superintendent Mike Hixenbaugh budgeted $230,746 for 2003, an increase of $18,518 over this year, with only a 2.5 percent increase for employee salaries.

Councilwoman Carol Koble said before the council can deal with the parks budget, the council needed to deal with the department heads' salaries and "how we feel about that."

Barb Carwile, council president, said with all the money Hixenbaugh raised for the community center this year and all the work he's done this year, Hixenbaugh warrants a better increase than 2.5 percent. Agreeing with Carwile, councilman Paul Stoelting said the council has talked about the park supervisor being grossly underpaid for years. The job is no longer just taking care of the two parks in Syracuse but now also includes the operation of the center.

Carwile told Hixenbaugh they wouldn't approve his budget Tuesday because they are going to increase his wages from the $35,875 he budgeted for 2003 to $39,257 and he will have to refigure his budget to include the new figures. The raise was unanimously approved.

The cumulative parks and recreation fund budget for 2003 was also unanimously approved at $13,025.

The parity issue came to the forefront when town marshal Tom Perzanowski presented his police budget to the council.

At the last regular town council meeting, the council told all departments to budget only a 2.5 percent increase for their employees. However, Perzanowski's budget included raises of 7 to 8 percent for employees based on increases the paramedics received last year. The council had approved additional raises to the paramedics last year because of extra training they went through to become paramedics.

Perzanowski had proposed increasing his salary for 2003 from $41,600 in 2002 to $44,640; detective pay from $34,649 to $37,516; pay for all patrolmen from $229,000 to $248,606; secretary, $29,756 to $31,230; sergeant, $34,648 to $37,516; and humane officer, $26,104 to $27,600.

Perzanowski said another reason he was increasing his own salary to $44,640 was because it was not out of line with what other local police chiefs are making. Other chiefs he talked to are receiving a $4,000 to $5,000 increase.

Councilman Bill Hane said he wants to see all department heads have about the same salary, which was one reason Hixenbaugh received the increase he did. Carwile said she didn't think there should be a difference in pay between patrolmen, EMS and the fire department. Councilman Mike Davis said if they brought patrolmen's wages up to paramedics' wages, they also would have to bring up the fire department salaries to match the paramedics.

Hane said the 2.5 percent increase should be for everyone. If they don't give increases at just 2.5 percent, Carwile said, the overall town budget will be $14,000 to $15,000 over the maximum levy. Either the council must slash the budget or the state board of accounts will.

Again, Koble said she is concerned about raising salaries with "those kind of percentages" and the council has to consider if they want parity for all the department heads.

Stoelting said he didn't think he was into absolute parity but at some point the council is going to have to "categorize" them.

"Who's to say one's more important than the other?" Carwile asked.

Hane replied there isn't one more important than the other and that's why they should be the same. They are all of equal importance.

One of the reasons the council decided on a 2.5 percent salary increase for 2003 for the town employees, Stoelting said, is because the town's income generated from a large local employer may decline next year if the business leaves. Stoelting said he can't agree with the kind of increases the police department is asking for unless they also do it for the fire department, but the town doesn't have the money to do that this year.

"I wish we could go up 4 or 5 percent, but I don't see how we could do it," said Carwile.

Hane made a motion to allow a 2.5 percent increase for all police department employees and it was approved 5 to 0. Perzanowski told the council he was sorry about their decision and he disagreed with it.

Town manager Brian Redshaw said he was not a believer in department head parity. The council should stay out of the discussion of comparing departments. "They're really not apples and apples. They're different," he said.

Carwile said there's too much tension between the fire and police departments and "it's time for it to come to a halt."

Perzanowski will have to refigure his 2003 budget and present it again to the council at its meeting July 16.

The council did approve the police law enforcement continuing education fund budget at $5,000; the animal control budget at $23,134, an increase of $1,129 over 2002; and the dispatcher's budget at $231,707, an increase of $3,259 over the 2002 budget.

Other budgets approved included:

• Fire department, $378,647, a decrease of $9,887; EMS, $183,879, an increase of $47,728. However, fire chief Mickey Scott is eliminating a part-time fireman from the fire department budget and adding a full-time paramedic to the EMS budget. He said it's easier to hire a paramedic and train them to be a fireman than vice versa. Also, having another paramedic, he said, will give them better coverage all around.

• Cumulative fire budget, $10,000.

• Street department, $572,118, an increase of $54,929. The budget includes $80,000 for street paving, which was paid out of the local roads and streets account in 2002. The budget also includes decrease of $60,000 for new equipment.

• Clerk treasurer, $469,139 for 2003; the 2002 budget was $465,681.

• Cumulative capital development, $42,000.

• Economic Development Income Tax fund, $203,275.

• Town manager, $89,877 for 2003; the 2002 budget was $87,451.

Members of the Syracuse Town Council are Paul Stoelting, Bill Hane, Mike Davis, Barbara Carwile and Carol Koble. Their next meeting is Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the town hall, Syracuse.