City employees to get one-time payments

Wasco city employees will get one-time payments of $2,000 after the City Council voted the allocation from American Rescue Plan funds. Part-time employees will get $1,000 payments.

City Manager Scott Hurlbert said that over the last couple of years, city employees have been operating under memorandums of understanding and a wage structure defined more than two years ago. He added that there has been some correction recently, but during that time, there was substantial inflation in the energy and food categories, impacting employees and their families.

The payments will total about $219, 907 from the fund that was created to help deal with the covid-19 pandemic.

"This is just a move in good faith with our employees to recognize these inflationary factors that have affected them and to use these ARPA funds in a valid manner to acknowledge the efforts that our employees put in and to keep our wages competitive without raising our base rate fund in an irreversible way," he said. "This is one of the things we have talked about during our strategic meetings: that the city is definitely taking the approach that we want to be competitive. We want to compensate our employees adequately, but we don't want to COLA [cost of living adjustments] ourselves out of business. So, this is an effective way to do that and put the money in their hands without affecting our long-term retirement and pension liabilities."

Chief Charles Fivecoat reported that there have been 90 crashes involving vehicles since the Police Department launched on April 18. The primary causes include unsafe turns, left turns into oncoming traffic, hazardous speed, cell phone distractions and DUIs. Most crashes have occurred in the Griffith Avenue corridor area.

To address the high number of incidents, he plans to have officers on the street with maximum enforcement during the holidays. "We previously started a campaign to educate the public about driving conditions that lead to accidents, but we're at a point now, especially with the presence of three fatal accidents in the last eight months, where we've made the decision that we've done a lot of education, and now we're going to start enforcement activity. We're taking it seriously. It's time now to do a little more enforcement. We must ensure the safety of the community."

Amor Regis and James Sauco of the Wasco Grocery Outlet were presented with certificates of recognition and keys to the city for their dedication and commitment to the city. Since opening its doors in June 2023, the new national retailer has been an excellent partner for Animal Control, hosting free adoption events at their store. The city has held four of these events, all of which have achieved highly successful adoption rates. Additionally, they donated dog food, snacks and toys during these events.

They have also supported police activities, including Chill with a Cop, Trunk or Treat and National Night Out.