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Regular City Council Meeting <br />September 4,2003 <br />Page 9 <br /> <br />maintenance worker at Kimberly-Clark. Councilman Plata said they were not <br />talking about wages at this time. Mr. Anderson said to compare benefit plans <br />without comparing wage levels does not make any sense, because someone out <br />here is making $25,000.00 or $35,000.00 a year and he has good retirement and <br />then you have someone making lesser retirement but they are making <br />$75,000.00 or $85,000.00 a year. He said that when you are making that much, <br />you can take part of your salary and do your own retirement plan. Mr. Anderson <br />said the two are linked together; you can't take them separately if you want an <br />honest look at it. Councilman Plata discussed teacher retirement as his wife <br />teaches. <br /> <br />Chief Louis said no one has a greater respect for educators than he does and felt <br />they need to be making more and receiving more benefits, but city employees <br />do not get off two or three months during the summer either. He said you have <br />to look at apples to apples. <br /> <br />Mr. Anderson again asked what was the average pay for a worker at K-C. <br />Mayor Pro Tem McCarthy advised that they average more than what the city <br />workers make, and it is very good pay. Mr. Anderson said it is a lot more than <br />what a city employee makes and that is the point. <br /> <br />After further discussion, Chief Louis said the original request from the Fire, <br />Police, and EMS was a 5% increase in salary and in reference to what they are <br />discussing now, his understanding is, instead of the 5% increase in salary, they <br />would take the 3.43% increase, leave the insurance and retirement intact. <br /> <br />The City Attorney mentioned the fact that anything that is put into a raise also <br />leaves that open for taxation by the Federal Government, everything left in your <br />benefits is not taxed. If you are looking at a 3.43% increase in salary and <br />keeping all the benefits verses the 4% or 5%, part of that 4% or 5% is going to <br />be taxed. Mr. Anderson said the 3.43% will be taxed, but the benefits will not <br />be and you have to keep that in the consideration when you are looking at the <br />numbers. <br /> <br /> <br />