Quincy budget approved despite public backlash – Commissioners get 122% raise, city workers get 1.5% raise

Last week, Quincy commissioners voted to pass its $36 million budget.

That budget is for the new fiscal year that began on October 1.

It includes a 122 percent pay raise for commissioners, despite pleas and backlash from citizens and city employees.

During the final budget hearing on Tuesday, September 28, the commission chamber was packed once again, just as it was at the first budget hearing, with citizens who gathered to speak against the hefty raises for commissioners.

This time, in addition to citizens, Quincy employees asked elected officials to hold off on raises for themselves, and give it to employees instead.

Public Works Director Reggie Bell, who was joined by 17 other city employees, said he was speaking as a citizen on behalf of other employees who are also citizens like himself.

“We feel mistreated and misled,” said Bell.

Bell looked directly at Mayor Ronte Harris and said, “[At] every employee appreciation you tell the manager to give us a raise. If this is the raise you’re offering us, this is just a slap in the face.”

The new budget includes a 1.5 percent raise across the board for all employees.

“How can you look at your employees and tell us that’s all we’re worth,” Bell asked.

Bell said he has already lost two employees who have a CDL license to other municipalities that pay more money.

Bell also told the commissioner he and others from the public works department saved the city several hundreds of thousands of thousands by renovating the police station, the police substation, the NetQuincy building, and other city buildings.

He said the city was looking at paying $500,000 to $600,000 for renovations, but only spent $120,000 thanks to Bell and the public works department employees.

He also said when Hurricane Michael hit, they were at the police substation, and couldn’t go home because trees were blocking the vehicles, and as soon as the hurricane blew over, he and several employees immediately began clearing the roads.

“It took two hours to clear from the police station to the hospital, and another two hours to get it from [Highway] 90 to the landfill,” Bell said. “We did that, me and some of these guys standing right here. Please, please, I’m asking you guys don’t approve that 122 percent raise for yourself.”

Mayor Pro Tem Keith Dowdell was first to respond to the public works staff.

“I hear everything everybody just said,” said Dowdell. “We’re trying to compare 1.5 to what we’re trying to get. Percentage wise, it looks bad.”

Dowdell said the 1.5 percent raises did not come from the commission. He said the city manager set that amount.

City manager Jack McLean shook his head in disagreement.

Commissioner Freida Bass-Prieto also disagreed.

Bass-Prieto said she had sat in nine budget workshops, and had heard not one commissioner speak up on giving city employees more money.

“I’m sorry, if we’re not the ones responsible for employee raises, then who is?” Bass-Prieto asked. “If we want to give them a raise, let’s do it tonight.”

Commissioner Angela Grant Sapp said since she has been a commissioner, the commissioners have always had a chance to decide how they want to allocate funds.

“We’ve had workshops on top of workshops,” Sapp said. “I’ve never had workshops after the budget, maybe one but not five.”

Dowdell made lengthy motion to pass the budget on its second reading with changes that includes a 10 percent raise for the city clerk, and to schedule five post budget workshops to try to find money for the city’s “dire needs” and to locate money for employee raises, and to place revenue from the Hurricane Michael surcharge into a continuous reserve that can’t be touched unless the commission approves it.

The vote was the same as it was in the first budget hearing.

Mayor Ronte Harris, and Commissioners Annessa Albritton-Candidate and Dowdell voted in favor of adopting the budget on its final reading.

Commissioners Bass-Prieto and Sapp voted against it.

After the vote, Harris announced that he and McLean, who he said was once his friend, had fallen out.

“For three years and argued with the city manager about employee raises,” Harris said.

Harris said he was told “how certain employees got paid more than other employees.”

He said when he confronted the city manager about it, McLean told him he was interfering with day-to-day operation, which is illegal for commissioners to do.

“My relationship is in turmoil with the city manager,” Harris said. “We have completely fallen out over day-to-day issues.”

He also said the city manager gives the commission information last minute, and asks them to make a decision on it.

Harris said McLean gave the commission a list of “dire needs” on Thursday night prior to the final budget hearing.

He said the numbers on the list have been inflated.

Harris agreed with Dowdell; he said the city manager sets employee raises.

“The problem is I can’t make that decision,” Harris said. “Only way is if I go through this budget tooth and nail and find the money.”

Harris promised the city employees he will find money for their raises within two weeks.

After hearing the commissioners’ responses, and the vote, another public works employee asked for a chance to speak.

“When y’all said the city manager gave us 1.5, why don’t y’all take 1.5 and pay employees first, and then find money?” Larry Daniels asked.

Daniels told the commissioners to not let their workers down.

He reminded the commissioners that at 3 or 4 a.m., it is city staff out working late - not commissioners.

“We can’t survive off 1.5,” said. “The 1.5 y’all gave us, the insurance went up so that’s gone.”

Harris did not allow McLean to address the accusations made against him during the budget hearing.

However, when he was given a chance to make comments later in the meeting, McLean revealed Harris had asked him to take $100,000 from the city’s crime prevention budget and move it to commission salaries and wages.

McLean noted that the raise that was given to employees was a 1.5 inflationary increase across the board.

He said that amount was set based on money the city received from the state and federal government.

McLean said the commission could have increased that amount at any time during the budget process.

Erin Hill - Gadsden County News Service

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Quincy budget approved despite public backlash – Commissioners get 122% raise, city workers get 1.5% raise

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Living conditions at Gadsden Arms Apartments catches the attention of local and federal officials

Quincy City Manager makes payments to city staff – resulting in questions from a city commissioner

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