Wednesday, July 6, 2005 | ||
Bad Links? | Tyrone awards raisesBy LEE WILLIAMS Tyrone Town Council members did not give the town manager, his assistant and three other full-time administration employees the 15 percent raise they asked for, but they still gave them a boost to let them know their work is valued. On Tuesday, the Council approved a 6 percent raise for Town Manager Barry Amos, Assistant Town Manager/Clerk Valerie Fowler and Tyrone Police Chief Johnny Hay. The remaining employees received a standard 3 percent cost-of-living raise. Councilman Mike Smola indicated the slightly higher raises for the three full-time employees were justified. There was an assessment done on towns both within Fayette County and out which determined their salaries were slightly below other municipalities, and so this was to bring them up to the level of other similar communities in Georgia, Smola said. Amos indicated following the 6:30 p.m. meeting June 28 that other town employees should receive a 3 percent cost-of-living raise and added it was less than the county gave to their employees. Gail Onesi of Tyrone said she believed not everyones raise was warranted. I think most everybody deserves a raise, with the exception of Barry Amos and Valerie and people who contributed to the Handley Park fiasco, Onesi said. Onesi lives in the Pendleton Lake subdivision and believes much of the mud that has polluted their lake has come from Handley Park. And Onesi does not believe those responsible for the pollution problem should be rewarded. The vote on the estimated $5 million budget was taken during the third budget work session planned by the town. Many residents attended the meeting in hopes of dissuading the council from giving 15 percent raises to a select few and moving the tennis and basketball courts. With upcoming military base closures at Fort McPherson and Fort Gillem, a 10 percent pay cut given to Delta Air Lines employees and other layoffs, some residents believed the town could simply cut back or do without. |
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