Knox city employees may be getting a pay raise next year, but only a slight one. Mayor Dennis Estok told the city council last week that he’s proposing a one-percent raise for employees, but no increase for elected officials or appointed board members.
Based on the current revenue trend, Estok wasn’t sure the city could support a larger raise plus any added expenses that may come up. “2021, I hope it’s not a big challenge, but it could be a challenge,” he told council members. “We did the reduction and that, so hopefully, that’s going to help, and it’s all going to depend on our December draw, how that comes in, and what we’ve got left over, if we have any left over, from the June draw.”
The mayor felt that committing too much money to salary increases has been an ongoing problem for Knox. “I think that’s why we’re kind of a little bit over, our General Fund is, because all these years, even when the circuit breaker first kicked in, everybody was told, ‘Your General Fund’s going to take a big hit. You better be careful.’ But I know Knox, we kept giving it: three percent, one time, four percent. Well, when that is eating up a lot of your growth, you have no wiggle room,” Estok said.
A salary ordinance will officially be presented for the city council’s approval in a future meeting.
