BROWNSTOWN
The Brownstown Park Board recommended giving raises to the head lifeguards and two park employees.
That vote in June was forwarded to the Brownstown Town Council for final approval.
During a special meeting Friday at the town hall, the council unanimously approved the pay increases.
The four head lifeguards will make $10 per hour, which will be retroactive to when the pool opened for the season at the end of May.
Park Superintendent Kevin Hanner’s pay will go from $11.25 per hour to $15, which is the maximum rate based on the town’s current salary ordinance, and Assistant Park Superintendent Mike Hawn will go from $10.50 to $13.50.
Hanner said he has worked for the town for 11 years, and Hawn has been there for six years. They typically work from April to October.
When he was asked by the town council to become park superintendent six years ago, Hanner said he agreed to go from $10 to $11 in hourly pay. He, however, hadn’t received a raise until this year when he received 25 cents more per hour.
"I’m fine with raises," council President Sally Lawson said. "It doesn’t seem like we have to pull that much, and honestly, what we’re paying now is really pretty low on a scale of cost of living in general."
During Friday’s meeting, the council also talked about establishing a redevelopment commission and a tax increment financing district in hopes of promoting economic development and drawing people to live and go to school in the town.
Councilman Gregg Goshorn said having a town pool and nice-looking parks are attractions, too, so he was in favor of the raises for pool and park workers.
"It all goes hand in hand," he said.
Looking at the annual budget for the park, which is around $87,000, Goshorn said giving the raises should be doable.
Money from the pool’s concession stand goes into a nonreverting fund, and food and drinks now are available through a window for people in the community while the pool is open, so that will generate some additional income. Brownstown Clerk-Treasurer David Willey said that money is used to buy items needed for the park and pool.
At the time the park board made its recommendation for the raises, it did not have a budget to determine what has been spent and what funds are available. Willey said that information has not been available in recent years because of the computer software he used. He just recently got that working, so that will now be available to the board.
"From here on out, let’s get a report for the park board, track how they are doing, where they’ve spent money, what they have left," Councilman Mark Reynolds said. "That way, they know, and we know, too. We get the same information, and we can work together and make it work. It will just work better for everyone."