ASHLAND — City employees part of a bargaining unit are receiving up to 4 percent wage increases this year and “until further action by council,” according to five related ordinances approved unanimously Tuesday.
The ordinances — passed each year before yearly appropriations — set limits for wages and other work benefits for city employees not already represented by a union, from the chief of police to interns and seasonal groundskeepers at the pool.
The language in the ordinance allows department heads to provide pay increases of up to 4 percent per employee.
The wage increases are retroactive, beginning on Jan. 1, said Mayor Matt Miller.
A new item included in this year’s ordinances is the elimination of a benefit known as the “perfect attendance days.” Under the old policy, employees were able to earn four additional personal days for a perfect attendance.
Miller said there were many employees who earned those extra days. But during the pandemic, many of those employees were coming to work while being ill, with or without COVID-19, he said.
“They wanted to make sure they earned those extra days,” he said.
The perk was instead replaced with the addition of three personal days across the board, Miller said.
The city also increased the amount of money provided for supervisory, administrative support staff and senior leadership positions’ education. Those who complete an associate’s, bachelor’s or master’s degree could receive anywhere from $300 to $1,200, annually.
The city also included two new paid holidays for 2022 and beyond: Juneteenth and Columbus Day.
Juneteenth became a national holiday in June 2021, when President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law.
Although many states recognized the holiday previously, the act made it a paid holiday and came into focus in 2020 amid the country’s reckoning over race following the death of George Floyd.
Ashland County will also recognize Juneteenth as a paid holiday in 2022.
City council also ratified a bargaining agreement with the Ashland Fire Department’s union, the International Association of Firefighters Local 1386.
The union will see a 4 percent wage increase this year and a 3 percent increase in 2023 and 2024. It also included a $200 allowance for uniforms.
Miller said this negotiation marked the city’s first with the fire department that did not involve any attorneys, noting the amicable relationship between firefighters and city officials.
“We negotiated the contract with our employees — it went very smoothly. We had two sessions,” Miller said.
The mayor said the city will now continue to negotiate with the police union and the city clerks’ union on their contracts.
