GREENVILLE, Miss.–The Greenville City Council is considering raises for public employees and Monday met to discuss those raises during a closed session.
The council is working on its budget for the next fiscal year, as are most municipalities in the state.
“Last year we did a base increase of $10,200. That was about $5 per hour for every police and fire,” said Mayor Errick Simmons. “I do know that we had a number of calls from the crossing guard who did not get anything last year.”
Simmons said some other departments also did not receive raises last year, as all city employees got substantial raises the year before that.
Simmons acknowledged that the prices of milk, eggs and other basic necessities have all gone up and that to retain employees raises may be necessary.
However, because raises are a personnel matter, and that even some titles could be associated with certain employees, all the discussions were held in executive session.
Though it is still unclear what raises might be coming, because the budget will not be finalized until next month, Simmons has already prepared city employees for a tough year, saying the council is considering every way to save money other than raising taxes, which is also a possibility.
