DAPHNE, Alabama - Daphne municipal employees are enjoying their first pay raise since 2008 after the City Council approved the increases earlier this month. Ordinance 2011-58 provided an additional $1,040 annually for full time employees and $.50 per hour for part time employees, effective Sept. 8. The annual cost to the city is $315,681.

The Council had considered an employee pay raise since June, settling on the final ordinance after ruling out a one-time lump sum payment proposed by Mayor Fred Small. Estimates provided by the finance department showed that the lump-sum payment option would cost the city $153,655. A 3 percent increase would have cost at least $348,000. The last COLA increase, 2.5 percent, was awarded in April 2008.

Councilman Derek Boulware said that approving a raise prior to considering the overall budget was “not being fiscally responsible.”

Councilman Gus Palumbo agreed, adding “it makes no sense to vote on a recurring expenditure when the finance department hasn’t given us any projections.”

Councilman John Lake called the raise a “modest adjustment,” and said the employees deserved the Council’s swift action.

“This is a situation where we haven’t had a pay increase in three years,” Lake said at the Council’s Sept. 9 meeting. “We have 200-plus employees that we have quite frankly jerked around quite a bit. I think it would be a disservice if we did not pull the trigger tonight.”

Councilman Ron Scott agreed, noting that the Council did not approved the FY 2011 budget until December.