The Portage City Council approved a $48.6 million budget on Tuesday amid uncertainty about raises for nonunion workers next year.
Councilman Collin Czilli questioned whether money was included in the fire department budget for 3.8% raises already negotiated with the firefighters union because the 2024 and 2025 budgets for salaries were so close.
After a pause to consult the deputy clerk who worked on that budget, Clerk-Treasurer Liz Modesto explained the raises were included. The reason the budget amounts were so similar is that older firefighters are retiring and being replaced by younger firefighters earning less.
Mayor Austin Bonta said raises for nonunion workers will be determined after contract negotiations are concluded with unions representing other workers in those departments. Raises weren’t factored into the budget but the increase in the health insurance rate is expected to be less than projected.
The clerk-treasurer’s office is an exception. None of the employees are unionized. Instead of across-the-board raises, those will vary based on the duties the deputy clerks are performing, Modesto said.
Bonta said city officials are interested in pursuing a wage study like the one Porter County did for its workers. Preparing for that means preparing written job descriptions for all positions. That’s in the works, he said.
Councilwoman Victoria Vasquez questioned the $25,000 set aside for the Portage Township YMCA to cover memberships for employees.
“There’s been a lot of discussion following emails back and forward to find out just who is taking advantage of the $25,000 membership being paid to be a member of the YMCA,” she said. “It ends up being roughly a third of our employees are using that as their membership.”
That’s not fair to the two-thirds of the workforce paying 100% of gym memberships elsewhere, she said. ”I just can’t see why we’re excluding them from these because we’re keeping ourselves restricted to only paying for the YMCA.”
“There was even some suggestion that maybe just doing a flat $5 stipend to all employees so they can have their choice of where to go for fitness or lifestyle recreational opportunities for better wellness or better health,” Vasquez said.
“Isn’t it our job to make sure everyone knows that benefit exists rather than to just axe the benefit,” Czilli asked. The YMCA is one of the very few nonprofits in the Portage area offering this kind of service, he said.
Bonta said it would cost about $33,000 for all employees to use the benefit, but he doesn’t expect full participation. “We don’t anticipate it ever maxing out to the $33,000.”
The $25,000 from the city reflects a discounted membership fee per employee.
Czilli said offering employees a stipend to cover gym memberships would become taxable and a headache for payroll calculations.
Besides physical fitness programs, there are other uses for the benefit, including meeting rooms.
The YMCA also offers free memberships to a lot of people based on income, Czilli added.
The city’s human resources director is letting new hires know about the benefit, Bonta said. Czilli suggested a campaign to make sure other employees know about this benefit.
The council voted 6-1 to adopt the budget, with Czilli casting the sole vote against it. The Redevelopment Commission budget isn’t included in the $48.6 million total.
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
