ROCK SPRINGS – There was a small discussion about the mayor and city council receiving raises as the ordinance to change the pay rate went through second reading Tuesday night. The next meeting is the final time residents can speak on the change as the council will vote after it goes through the third and final reading.

The raise will change the mayor’s pay from $14,400 a year to $24,000 a year. The city council positions will go from $4,800 to $12,000. Local firefighter and President of the Local Fire Fighters Union No. 1499, Dominic Erramouspe. questioned the governing body on the basis behind the increase.

Mayor Carl Demshar explained there has not been a change in the pay ordinance since 1991. He added that when talking to the general public to try to get a feeling about how the public would feel of the change, they were surprised how long it had been and some actually urged the city to move forward with it.

The mayor asked Councilman Billy Shalata to speak more on the change.

The first step the city took was to look at some of the cities in Wyoming and see where they rank. Shalata said Rock Springs ranks fourth in population in the state but when it came to pay for the governing body, the city fell to sixth or seventh. Shalata also explained they looked at Green River and Sweetwater County and this also played a part in determining the new pay rate. The increase falls in line with where the county and Green River currently sit. He also pointed to how high the cost of living is now compared to 1991.

Councilman Clark Stith also responded to the questions, thanking Erramouspe for his question and bringing up a discussion about the issue.

Stith said one thing people need to remember is, unlike most elected official raises, municipalities have to go through an election cycle. Sitith broke it down by explaining he will have to be re-elected and will not get the raise until 2017 if he has the ward’s support at the election. He said Shalata will be up for re-election in 2015 and joked if this change goes through he will be jealous of his fellow councilors who will already be getting more money.

Stith also said to look at it as if it was an hourly wage. He pointed at Shalata and Councilwoman Glennise Wendorf who put in 60 hours work weeks for the city.

“If the council doesn’t get a raise, you have to at least give the mayor one. He is here all the time,” Stith said jokingly that he is not a stalker. “I have an office across the street and every time I look out the window he is here.”

Erramouspe said they must have known what the next five questions were by the answer to his first question.

“As the President of a local labor organization, we welcome these discussions and dialogue,” Erramouspe said.

He said he is pleased to see a council who is taking a hard look at the pay steps and pay system. Erramouspe added they will be watching with interest.

Other ordinances

There were several other ordinances which went through first reading Tuesday night. These include city office changes,  board of health changes and garbage collection.

City office changes are mostly language changes to clean the ordinance up while adding the newly formed human resource department.

Under the board of health ordinance, all language is being completely removed.

The garbage collection ordinance has several changes although many have been implied for many years. Garbage cans now can be up to 75 gallons if the language passes. The ordinance now states garbage must be in metal containers. The new change would take the metal requirement out.

If these changes are approved, garbage from yards, including leaves, tree limbs and so on would have to be placed in a separate container.

Also, all bags of garbage have to be tied and garbage cans must be stored out of the view of the public. Many residents have been doing this for years but the language is officially being put in.

Executive Session

The Rock Springs Council broke into an executive session after the regular meeting concluded. The executive session lasted around 45 minutes and was about potential litigation. The governing body called the meeting back in session and there was no action taken.