Wausau City Hall. MWC file photo.
WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — The Wausau City Council has approved budgeting $2,500 to each city department as a bonus pool for employees.
City HR Director Toni Vanderboom says the city has always allowed for bonus money to be paid out to employees in recognition of outstanding service, but only if their department had vacancies to make the payout budget neutral. “That means that we had a lot of departments with really good workers and no avenue in which to recognize them.”
Vanderboom says the vote then establishes a budget for those departments that are full. But just because the budget is there, doesn’t mean the money has to be given. She says the intent is to recognize outstanding workers when the situation warrants.
Department heads would be required to submit a memo to HR requesting the bonus for an employee outlining why they have done to deserve it. Before the bonus is paid out the proposal would require approval from the City Council.
Vanderboom also notes that if a department has openings, the bonus would come out of their current budget before dipping into the $2,500 pool. Should that money go unused, it would carry over into the next year.
Alder Lisa Rasmussen said she sees this as a new wrinkle that can help the city retain employees. “A lot of the things that we have put in place recently are to attract new employees. At the same time, we have to find a way to recognize our existing employees that may be dealing with other issues like workloads, overtime, and salary compression.”
Vanderboom agreed that the workload issue is something they hear a lot from employees. “[They say] I take on extra projects, but I get the same increase as everyone else under a standard step system. This gives directors some ability to recognize those people who step up to the table.”
“I think it’s good, I think it’s fair,” added Rasmussen.
ALTERNATE ADDED TO ETHICS BOARD
The Council also approved the appointment of Kay Palmer to the Ethics Board as an alternate member. The move gives the Board four members, the number required for a hearing if the complaint against Alder Deb Ryan should reach that stage.
RELATED: Wausau Ethics Board Seeking Response from Alder Ryan Regarding Complaint
The meeting packet for Tuesday did include the appointment of a permanent member to the board as well, but that person recently moved out of Wausau and is unable to serve. The city will continue to look for a permanent member along with some alternates as well.
The board is currently in the process of receiving Ryan’s response to the allegations against her. Their next meeting has not been scheduled.
Ryan was not in attendance for Tuesday’s meeting.
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