POMEROY — Pomeroy Village Council passed the first of three required readings of an ordinance which would set new pay rates for employees.

The ordinance proposes the following pay rates for the listed positions: chief of police, $38,000 annually (the rate is currently $33,000 annually); village administrator, $47,850 annually (the rate is currently $47,850 annually); waste water operator, $36,400 annually (the rate is currently $36,400 annually); all officers in the Pomeroy Police Department will receive a 75 cent raise with captains going to $12.57 per hour, sergeants going to $11.43 per hour, corporals going to $11.10 per hour and patrolmen and the code enforcement position going to $10.98 per hour; full-time dispatchers in the police departments, $8.02 per hour (the rate is currently $7.53); Pomeroy Mayor’s Court Clerk, $8.52 per hour (the rate is currently $8.03); assistant mayor’s court clerk, $8.16 per hour (the rate is currently $7.67); parking meter enforcement officer, $8.29 per hour (the rate is currently $7.80).

With the water and street departments merging into the new Pomeroy Public Works Department, existing employees from those former departments were all brought up to the same rate of pay of $10.50 per hour. Any new employees into the public works department will be paid $8 per hour for a period of six months probation and then bumped to $8.50 per hour. The public works clerk, $8.80 per hour (the rate is currently $8.31); tax administrator, $8.80 per hour (the rate is currently $8.31); laborer for downtown maintenance, $8.50 per hour (the rate is currently $8.15). The rate for other laborers will be $7.40 per hour (minimum wage).

Council members Jackie Welker, Vic Young and Pete Barnhart voted for the ordinance’s first reading and Councilwoman Ruth Spaun abstained from the vote.

Spaun asked Clerk-Treasurer Kathy Hysell about the finances and if the village could afford the raises. Hysell said funds are “tight” and “money is just not coming into the general fund.” She also said a worst case scenario, if revenue doesn’t pick up, could be layoffs. She then pointed to the village spending significantly more than it’s been taking in for the first three months of the year.

After the meeting, Hysell said in January, the general fund took in $44,824.71 but had expenditures in the amount of $70,240.60; in February, the general fund took in $57,358.68 but had expenditures of $80,498.31; in March, the general fund took in $57,945.64 but had expenditures in the amount of $66,908.89. This means, to date, the village has overspent the general fund by $57,518.77.