BECKLEY, WV (LOOTPRESS) – The City of Beckley Common Council has released the planned agenda for their Common Council set to take place on Tuesday, September 12, 2023, at 6:30 pm.
The meeting will see a number of agenda items discussed, with one notable item being the approval of a raise for Public Works employees in the amount of $2.00 per hour. This follows the previous Beckley City Council meeting last month which saw a Public Works employee address City of Beckley Mayor Rob Rappold during the “Public Comments” portion of the session demanding an increase in compensation comparable to that recently received by members of the Beckley Police Department.
“We want an $8,000 a year raise; the same as the police officers got. We want you all to take it up…and we can all discuss it and vote on it instead of doing all this stuff behind closed doors. It’s a bunch of crap. I’m not going to settle for it,” said the employee. “If we don’t get the $8,000 a year raise, I will be here [at] every open Council meeting for the rest of my life.”
The proposed raise of $2 an hour would be, at 40 hours per week, the equivalent to roughly a $4,000 annual increase. This would be 60% higher than the initially proposed rate increase in police compensation of $2,500, but only half the amount of the $8,000 increase which was ultimately approved.
It should be noted, however, that the $4,000 annual estimate for the $2.00 hourly rate increase is predicated on the assumption of a 40-hour work week being the standard for employees in question. This, however, is merely a speculatory estimation, and the final amount approved will be contingent upon the actions taken by Council members on Tuesday, along with those who determine Public Works employees’ respective hourly schedules.
The full agenda for Tuesday’s session as released by the City of Beckley can be seen below.
- Call meeting to order.
- Reading and approval of minutes from the regular Council meeting dated August 22, 2023.
- Award of bid for one breathing air compressor system for the BFD.
- Receipt of bids for the milling and paving of Woodlawn Avenue (from 2nd Street to Clark Street).
- Second reading and public hearing of an Ordinance Granting Easement to North Beckley P.S.D. Through Lewis McManus Trail.
- Resolution for the WV Governor’s Highway Safety Program grant from the WV DMV in the amount of $415.520.00 for the Law Enforcement Liaison Project.
- Resolution for the WV Governor’s Highway Safety Program grant from the WV DMV in the amount of $348,500.00 for the WV Lifesavers & Data Tracking & Agency Support Projects.
- Resolution for the WV Governor’s Highway Safety Program grant from the WV DMV in the amount of $357,400.00 for the Southern Regional Highway Safety Program.
- Request for approval of a $2.00/hr. across the board pay increase for BPW employees.
- Old Business.
- New Business.
- Public Comments.
- Adjournment.
The regular Council Meeting for the City of Beckley scheduled for August 8, 2023, at 6:30 p.m. will be held in Council Chambers. The public may join the meeting in Council Chambers by observing social distancing. The public may also join the meeting by computer or phone using the weblink or phone number provided on the City’s webpage or Facebook page the day of the Council meeting.
