Centerville council OKs bonuses for city workers

CENTERVILLE -- City employee paychecks will be a little fatter this week after City Council approved last-minute Christmas bonuses in a special session Wednesday.

“They’ve certainly earned it,” Mayor John Harley said. “Our employees are working all the time to help keep costs down and doing a great for us every day. They deserve this.”

Council approved $8,775 out of unspent contingency funds to give the city’s 53 full-time employees a $150 bonus each and 11 part-time workers a $75 bonus. Harley said all employee bonuses will be in checks issued this week.

Councilman Robert Smith said Wednesday employees have received Christmas bonuses in past years but that council had “slipped up” in not getting bonuses approved earlier.

Harley said the bonuses were made possible through cost saving efforts by employees and that expenditures that would normally come out of contingency funds were not needed, such as unforeseen equipment replacement.

In September, council increased ad valorem taxes by 1.189 mills. At that time, officials said city employee efforts to cut costs and the fact they had not received cost-of-living increases helped keep the increase so low. Officials attributed the increase largely to the city’s property tax exemption for senior citizens.

This story was originally published December 16, 2010 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Centerville council OKs bonuses for city workers."