Council approves pay raise for more than 800 Toledo workers
3/18/2014More than 800 city of Toledo employees were granted a pay raise today, retroactive to Jan. 1, that will cost taxpayers $1.4 million.
Toledo City Council voted 11-1 to approve a 2.5 percent wage hike agreement reached by the Collins administration and AFSCME Local 7. Councilman Tom Waniewski cast the lone dissenting vote – as he did two weeks ago regarding an identical pay increase and more sick time for the city’s 911 operators.
“We shouldn't be approving pay raises when we haven't even approved the budget,” Mr. Waniewski said. “We are not out of the woods economically and we can't afford this. We don't have our budget under control.”
The union’s contract called for a wage reopener this year.
The new terms revise the union’s current contract that runs through June 30. The union ratified the agreement last week, days after the agreement was reached.
Mayor D. Michael Collins said the pay raises would cost the city's general fund $209,000. The rest would be spread out over other funds, including $633,000 for the city's department of public utilities.
“It is going to be a stretch, but we can live with it,” Mayor Collins said.
- Ignazio Messina