Changes to Lorain's nonunion salary hikes discussed; employees to see raise

LORAIN — Lorain's nonunion employees will see a raise, but a permanent solution is still up in the air. On March 15, Lorain City Council members removed a "me too" clause for city bargaining, where nonbargaining and managerial employees receive raises when the unions do. Directly after removing the clause, Council approved a new contract with Lorain firefighters. The following day, Mayor Jack Bradley vetoed the decisions. Council members have not tried to override the veto, but they are expected to deal with it at its next Council meeting. Council can overrule Bradley's veto with a two-thirds majority vote. City Auditor Karen Shawver said her employees were upset and taken aback by the surprise move Council members made. She alleged that Council members play favorites when it comes to who gets raises. She said Council members have a lot of work to do to make up for the decision they made on the me too clause. Part of that is getting the nonunion employees about a 4.3 percent raise for 2021. That is slated to be approved at next week's full City Council meeting. But how to devise a permanent solution hasn't yet been decided. Councilman Josh Thornsberry, D-8th Ward, proposed creating a committee of two Council members, one administration member, two COLMAG members, two nonbargaining employees and one manager or department head to come up with the answer. "This is not something that we can achieve quickly," he said. "It will take months of deliberation." But Law Director Pat Riley expressed concern over creating a committee, as it is Council's responsibility to determine raises for city employees. Thornsberry said the committee would only make recommendations to Council. Riley said a work session would be a better process to determine a way to go forward. Thornsberry said he wanted the sessions to be private, but Riley said he believes a committee created by Council would have to be open to the public. Work sessions are always open to the public. "A committee created by Council would be an agency of Council and would have to do business in the light of day," Riley said. Councilman Rey Carrion, D-6th Ward, was not fully in support of the committee structure because of the potential conflicts of interest. He suggested that the administration come up with a solution. Shawver said the city desperately needs to do a salary study and determine where to go from there. Councilman Cory Shawver, D-7th Ward, also supported a salary study. Bradley also said a salary study could be beneficial for the city. Neighboring Elyria did a salary study in 2018, and it created a pay scale for most nonunion employees along with additional legislation on issues such as benefits and vacation time. Lorain department heads expressed displeasure with the hasty removal of the me too clause, and asked for something fair and equitable to be put in its place. "I understand the difficulty you have balancing the budget and giving out raises," said Clerk of Court Ted Kalo. "But eliminating the me too clause on short notice prior to approving a contract hurt the most for my employees." Council members defended their decision, with Councilman Tony Dimacchia, D-at large, calling the me too clause "bad for business." Councilwoman Mary Springowski, D-at large, said she isn't against giving employees deserved raises, but said the me too clause gives an apples-to-oranges comparison. What the ultimate solution will be — and how Council will come to that solution — will be discussed again at a later date. Legislation approving a raise for nonbargaining employees will go before the full City Council next week. Contact Laina Yost at (440) 329-7121 or lyost@chroniclet.com.