Each week, in an effort to provide greater familiarity and communication between the four Marathon City Council candidates and our readers, the Marathon Weekly will print candidates’ answers to a series of questions in editions leading up to the Nov. 5 election. With councilman Luis Gonzalez terming out and councilman Kenny Matlock’s term expiring, the council will see at least one new face, as Matlock is seeking re-election. Former candidate Dustin Huff announced his withdrawal from the council race earlier this month.
Have suggestions for questions to ask the candidates? Email alex@keysweekly.com for consideration.
Answers are printed exactly as submitted by candidates, with responses limited to 150 words.
This week: Over the last few years, city staffing and raises for city employees have dominated council discussions during workshops for Marathon’s annual budget. If elected, moving forward, how would you base the compensation for city employees’ annual increases?
JODY “LYNNY” DEL GAIZO
I believe the city employees should receive an increase to go along with a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) just like our Social Security which is at 2.5%. Plus an additional compensation received like bonuses determined by job level, years of experience and incentives dependent on performance. I would like to have a plan that motivates employees and encourages individual advancement. Providing a plan for compensation brings value to the City of Marathon and establishes a foundation for an improved employee experience!
MARK SENMARTIN
Obviously, people need to be paid fairly. So how do we do that? We have a system in place. Department managers review the people under them, the City manager reviews the department managers, and the City Council reviews the City manager and City attorney. Employees that score well on their reviews should be rewarded with a merit-based pay increase. We should also be looking at the employees that didn’t score as well and see what we can do to help them be more successful. I have no problem with giving a cost-of-living increase, but that number is calculated by the Bureau of Labor statistics. It’s not something we set.
RAY WOOD
Taking care of our city staffers should always be a priority. We must make sure to pay all positions well, so we do not lose them to other cities or the county. While cost of living raises needs to be addressed periodically, we still need to also look at merit-based raises as well, especially for those that are doing an exceptional job and go beyond what is asked of them as many of our staffers do now. Paying well on a merit base raise is how we show our staff how important they are to us and how we value them and their work. I also believe we should have annual reviews of our staff to help us understand how they are preforming their task, to also help the individuals understand how they are doing.
KENNY MATLOCK
I have said in council financial meetings, I would like to see more merit based pay raises implemented. We need a better way of reviewing employee performance to make sure raises are awarded fairly. I believe it’s an injustice to lower paid employees to receive the same percentage of increase as some of our extremely high paid employees – as has happened in the past. We have had raises for some higher paid employees equal about half of some lower paid staff’s yearly salary. We need to incentivize and award hard work from our good employees.
WATCH THE FORUM
A full recording of the Keys Weekly and Marathon Chamber of Commerce’s local candidate forum on Oct. 7 is available.