No second, no vote, no raise for Berwick mayor, council

BERWICK – The Town Council on Tuesday passed up a chance to give itself a raise beginning with the next council term in 2027.
They may not be the only city employees who miss out on a raise.
The council took up an ordinance that would have raised the council members’ salaries to $675 per month from $500, and the mayor’s salary to $3,875 per month from $3,000.
That would have been the first raise since 2001 and would not take effect until a new council is sworn in in January 2027.
Mayor Duval Arthur, who said he won’t run for re-election and wouldn’t benefit from the raise, argued for the hike as a way to attract people, especially younger people, into public service.
“I felt like I wanted to do it for the next mayor and council,” Arthur said.
Councilman James Richard agreed.
“In the years to come,” Richard said, “we need some people to step up.”
Two members of the council, Raymond Price and Colleen Askew, announced their intention to vote against the ordinance.
“I put in a lot of blood, sweat and tears,” Askew said. “And I do not think I need a raise.”
Price said that although council members put in work outside regular meetings, the only real requirement is to show up for the monthly second-Tuesday sessions.
“I get paid $500 an hour,” Price said. “That’s a slap in the face to everybody in this town.”
During a public hearing, resident Linda Thomas asked whether city maintenance workers and first responders will also be getting raises.
If not, “I think there’s an injustice there.”
And that brought up another point of contention.
City workers have received a 3% annual raise in recent years. But after the meeting, Chief Administrative Office Newell “Bubba” Slaughter said the prospects for employee raises in the next budget are uncertain.
The council on Tuesday approved a budget amendment taking into account a list of added expenses. One was $100,000 largely for police pay and overtime. But the remainder reflects several town projects: $200,000 for the Brown House town museum expansion, $600,000 for Sixth Street improvements, $1.5 million for drainage work at Country Club Estates and $850,000 for water meter upgrades and related work.
Most of the infrastructure work is being funded by grants. But Slaughter said the town government’s matching obligations and pre-construction work not covered by the grants may cost $1 million over the next two years.
The 3% employee raise would cost the town about $60,000 a year, Slaughter estimated.
At the end of the discussion, Councilman Lud Henry moved to table the ordinance raising the mayor and council pay. “I don’t think we’re ready to vote on it,” he said.
But the motion died for lack of a second.
Then Richard made a motion to approve the ordinance. That motion also failed to attract a second.
Also Tuesday:
--The council introduced a pair of ordinances related to fees and taxes. One would keep the town’s drainage fee at $25 per acre. The other keeps the 2025 property tax rates at 12.66 mills for general purposes and 5.90 mills for public improvements.
If the ordinances follow the normal course, they’ll come up for public hearings and passages vote at the April 8 council meeting.
--The council passed a resolution of respect for Randy Plessala, a former Town Council member who died Jan. 25. Plessala was a councilman 1974-82, a time when town improvements included the Civic Center, its park, and many baseball and softball parks. He also was active in planning for the Lighthouse Park.
“We commit to carrying forward the values of kindness, service and community engagement that he exemplified,” the resolution says.
The mayor presented a copy of the resolution to Plessala’s family.
--The council gave Beacon Shines On recognition to Berwick High’s Student of the Year, Mallory Menard, and Teacher of the Year Zachary Stewart.
Principal Toney Linn said the two have something in common: They serve as mentors to students. Stewart teaches biology, and Menard is a 4.0 student.
--The council awarded the contract for the Sixth Street improvements to Byron E. Talbot Contractors Inc. Talbot submitted the lowest bid at $599,664, about $100,000 below what the town had estimated.
--The council agreed to pay Talbot, which is also a contractor on the Country Club Estates drainage project, $455,348, and Miller Engineers & Associates $24,364, both in connection with the Country Club work.
--The council approved an American Legion Post 242 can shake April 5.