SPRINGFIELD — While the city prepares to levy its first-ever property tax on residents, some elected leaders are not ready to part with their own taxpayer-funded benefits.
Salaries and life, health, and dental benefits for city commissioners currently cost Springfield $122,056 a year. During Thursday’s workshop discussion on the topic, one commissioner proposed slashing that number to $15,600. However, a couple of commissioners were reluctant to follow suit.
“If they want to do away with theirs, then they can do away with theirs,” Commissioner Carl Curti said.
Residents present for the discussion did not feel the same way.
“Your job is part time,” said resident Joseph Hatton. “We should not be paying one iota for your insurance, and we are tired of it.”
Commissioner John Gipson also was reluctant to separate with the benefits but suggested amending a resolution that made commissioners salaried employees for future elected officials.
Commissioner Philip Dykes proposed dropping benefits for elected officials completely and lowering monthly pay for commissioners to $200 and the mayor’s pay to $500. Their current salaries are $15,583 for commissioners and $18,689 for the mayor.
“Eleven months of the year, we are well overpaid,” Dykes said during discussions.
After the meeting, he added: “If they want to be adamant about benefits … they can pay for it.”
Mayor Ralph Hammond opted to forfeit his benefits and said during the discussion he would accept the salary decided on by commissioners.
“I just can’t see elected officials deserving benefits,” he said.
A final decision was not made during the workshop.
Shortfall
Hammond will be writing an open letter to residents and directing department heads to gather figures on how much of a shortfall the city can expect in preparation of adopting a property tax for the first time in the city’s 79-year history, he said. Last year, the city was about $600,000 down at the beginning of the fiscal year. Early estimates place the ad valorem rate at about 3.5 mills to cover that amount. A mill is equal to $1 for every $1,000 of taxable value.
Commissioners will have to announce the upper limits a property tax could reach in July, and must decide in August on the amount residents would pay. The city’s sole sources of income are communication taxes and franchise fees from the state in the amount of $1.5 million, and those funds are being cut each year, Hammond said.
“If we could survive for another year and a half, we could be looking good. But, right now, we’re just trying to keep the city alive,” Hammond said.
Commissioners also heard an update from Mark Bowen, Bay County’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) chief. Bowen proposed Springfield allow EOC to take over dispatch operations for the city’s fire services.
“We work so closely operationally,” Bowen said. “It just makes sense for us to dispatch from a central location.”
The change would not affect police dispatch, Bowen said.
Springfield’s Fire Chief Michael Laramore said his main goal when he took on the position was to improve fire service standards. He said allowing EOC’s dispatch operations, which has an Insurance Services Inc. (ISO) communication rating of 1, to take over would meet one of his goals.
“If we can lower the ISO rating, that’s going to be good for the residents because it would decrease home insurance costs,” Laramore said.
Commissioners will meet Monday at noon in City Hall, 3529 E. Third St., for further deliberation.