Sheboygan committee sends 2024 budget to Common Council for public hearing and vote

SHEBOYGAN — The Sheboygan community will have a chance to voice opinions on the 2024 city budget Nov. 6 during the Common Council meeting.

Last Monday, the Committee of the Whole met to discuss the $15-an-hour minimum wage city Municipal Code and approve changes made to next year’s budget.

Despite confusion voiced by multiple members of the committee, the budget as it stood after the proposed amendments will go to the Common Council to be voted on for adoption.

The budget will be voted on after the public forum.

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Sheboygan Municipal Code Section 18-1 says all city employees, unless otherwise exempt, must be paid a minimum of $15 per hour. The system in place to guarantee all employees are making that wage is where confusion seemed to have set in for committee members.

Because the code requires all employees to be paid at least $15 per hour, all city employees under that benchmark were raised to $15. However, they will not be given annual pay adjustments based on cost of living and inflation until their original pay would have caught up to $15 naturally.

Here is an example of if this program started today: If an employee had a starting wage under $15 and in five years, they would have been making $15 naturally as a result of yearly increases, the employee will now only be given a cost-of-living adjustment in 2028. This means the employee is frozen at $15 for several years as the scale catches up.

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Grazia Perrella, alderperson for District 7, said in the meeting she did not understand the cost-of-living increases would not be given to those who started under the $15 benchmark. She suggested the committee revisit the code.

There are currently three positions — library page, library cleaner and police crossing guard — who are subject to the minimum-wage benchmark, said Liz Majerus, assistant city attorney.

Angela Ramey, District 5 alderperson, said they made the $15 benchmark with the understanding it was for fair cost of living.

“I just feel that it was maybe manipulated, or what have you, to say that they cannot have the cost of living increase again for eight, to nine, to 10 years,” she said.

Ramey said it is obvious to at least some of the committee, if not all, the code was not made with transparency, and they cannot let it stand.

She said she agrees with Amanda Salazar, District 3, who voiced similar concerns.

“I also agree with Amanda that these situations moving forward can't happen like this, that we have to have complete transparency, and speaking to 10 people in a language where we all fully understand because these are lives in our community that are being affected by this,” Ramey said.

The plan also affects employees at the top of the wage scale.

When the pay plan was being created, the city hired a consultant who went through city jobs and placed them into categories based on the pay that should be attached to each job, Charles Adams, city attorney told the Sheboygan Press.

The amount an employee is paid within that category is determined based on tenure, Majerus explained.

The employees who were being paid more than the top of their category’s pay range didn’t receive a pay cut, but are also subject to the freeze those at the low end are experiencing, explained Adams.

During the meeting, the code was only up for discussion, but Finance Director Kaitlyn Krueger did offer some suggestions for revisiting the code and points to consider while remedying concerns.

Discussions regarding the 2024 budget

During the meeting, Krueger listed changes to the capital improvement plan.

One change was the Uptown Social gymnasium construction in 2024 being funded by donations.

Because of those changes, next year’s debt request amount was slightly decreased, she said.

The council voted 8-1 to accept the changes and recommend the improvements for adoption to the Common Council with the understanding the future capital improvements will be looked at in coming years. This understanding was because until the meeting, Sheboygan did not have a city administrator.

Additionally, Krueger spoke about errors found in budget calculations that were fixed and the adjustments made to make up for the changes. She also asked for an increase of $500,000 to the contingency budget for 2024, funded by the general fund.

These changes and corrections passed.

Dean Dekker, District 6, motioned to move a floater position for the Department of Public Works to a mechanic because the department felt the need was greater for that position. The motion passed.

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Several motions of the night did not pass. Through these discussions, concerns were raised by alderpersons over the rules for bringing forward a budget change.

Some of the changes attempting to be brought forward were not balanced, a rule previously set for the committee.

Salazar voiced the need to make sure rules and expectations were made clear because some of them have full-time jobs and they are doing the best they can. She said some decisions happen quickly, so making sure rules are clearly communicated is important.

Perrella also said there needs to be more support for helping them identify ways to solve problems with making their proposals work.

Adams said the rule for balanced proposals comes from a need to know specifically and clearly where money is coming from and going. Because the budget vote is at the next common council meeting, the balanced changes allow for smoother transitions without loose ends.

Despite the confusion and some failed motions, the committee voted unanimously to recommend the Common Council adopt the resolutions and budget as amended.

Have a story tip or public interest concern? Contact Sam Bailey at sgbailey@gannett.com or 573-256-9937. To stay up to date on her stories and other news, follow her on X (Twitter) @SamarahBailey.

This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Sheboygan committee sends 2024 budget to council for hearing and vote