Council to vote on proposed budget, pay hikes Monday

Benjamin Pounds, Oakridger
·3 min read
Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson, left, talks to Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch, right, after presenting a proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2022 through 2023.
Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson, left, talks to Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch, right, after presenting a proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2022 through 2023.

The Oak Ridge City Council is getting ready to vote on a proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year that includes a possible raise for city employees.

Council will need to approve the proposed budget on two readings before it is adopted. The first reading and vote is scheduled for Council's 6 p.m. Monday meeting at the Oak Ridge Municipal Building courtroom. It will also include a public hearing that will allow citizens to make comments.

City Manager Mark Watson gave City Council information on the proposed budget last Tuesday, May 31.

Mark Watson
Mark Watson

The proposal includes no increase in the property tax rate. Utility rates, Watson said, will also stay the same in the short term. However, he said there might be adjustments for "TVA fuel rates." He also said a study will determine the effects of a new water treatment plant on utility rates for the fiscal year after next.

Watson spoke at length during the presentation about raises and bonuses for city employees in order to keep them working for the city government, as well as attracting new employees.

"Competition up and down the ladder on employees," Watson said describing the current situation. He said the current job climate means the city is competing for employees with other employers.

Watson encouraged Council to approve two pay raises for city employees: by 2% on July 22, 2022 and another 2% on Jan. 23, 2023, along with step pay increases based on employees' evaluations. On top of those raises, he said, directors of city departments could offer a one-time bonus to encourage employees to stay at their jobs and finish "critical" projects for the city rather than leaving to pursue other job offers.

The Oak Ridge Board of Education has approved a budget with a 4% pay hike for school system employees in the upcoming fiscal year.

Mayor Pro Tem Rick Chinn, left, and City Council member Ellen Smith, right, talk to Oak Ridge Police Department officers who requested a larger raise after a budget presentation Tuesday, May 31, 2022. Pictured are Officer Kasey Thomas, from left, and Officer Jeremy Phillips. Behind them are Officer Garrett Robbins and Officer Zachery Gauthier.
Mayor Pro Tem Rick Chinn, left, and City Council member Ellen Smith, right, talk to Oak Ridge Police Department officers who requested a larger raise after a budget presentation Tuesday, May 31, 2022. Pictured are Officer Kasey Thomas, from left, and Officer Jeremy Phillips. Behind them are Officer Garrett Robbins and Officer Zachery Gauthier.

The May 31 meeting did not include time for public comment, but several members of the Oak Ridge Police Department talked to Council members informally after the meeting. The officers requested a larger pay increase than what Watson proposed to keep up with the cost of living and keep the ORPD's pay competitive with officers' pay in nearby cities.

"There's no point in having a Convention and Visitors' Bureau and planning an airport if we can't have a good police department," City Council member Ellen Smith told The Oak Ridger in a later interview regarding the officers' request, saying the city needed to meet the officers' needs.

Watson told City Council the Oak Ridge Outdoor Municipal Swimming Pool is "fully staffed" with lifeguards this summer. He said the city had used free lifeguard training as an incentive, which he said private pools did not provide.

"I think we're doing some creative things," he said regarding the city's methods of attracting lifeguards.

Watson's description of the Oak Ridge pool is in contrast to the Karns Pool, which plans to operate on limited hours. It had to close May 31 through June 3 due to this lifeguard shortage, its Facebook page stated. Shortages in lifeguards have been causing problems nationwide, media outlets such as CNN have reported.

The proposed city of Oak Ridge budget for all funds is $216,957,549.

Watson, in his presentation, also discussed many different infrastructure projects for the city. He talked about using federal American Rescue Plan Act funding to rebuild water lines under West Outer Drive and East Drive.

He also spoke about Americans with Disabilities Act accessible bathrooms and Children's Room improvements for the Oak Ridge Public Library. He spoke of resurfacing the city's indoor swimming pool. He also listed design work for renovations to the outdoor pool, about which the city has been surveying citizens, as reported in the newspaper. Other projects include road resurfacing and patching.

Watson spoke of an "ongoing commitment" to spending $4 million for wastewater (sewer) improvements over the next four years. Although Watson did not say it at the meeting, that commitment is part of a legal settlement with the environmental group Tennessee Riverkeeper Inc. over alleged violations to the Clean Water Act.

Ben Pounds is a staff reporter for The Oak Ridger. Call him at (865) 441-2317, follow him on Twitter @Bpoundsjournal and email him at bpounds@oakridge.com.

This article originally appeared on Oakridger: Oak Ridge City Council scheduled to vote on Budget Monday, June 6