Bonus going to city employees, Northwest Arkansas Times reports

City workers to get bonuses
BY DUSTIN TRACY Northwest Arkansas Times
Posted on Tuesday, December 2, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/News/71660
City of Fayetteville employees will get a little extra money from their employer this Christmas.
At its budget meeting Monday, the City Council agreed to let Paul Becker, finance director for the city, set aside $ 50, 000 out of the salaries budget to give $ 100 service awards to every employee who has worked for the city for more than one year and $ 50 service awards to those employees who have worked for the city less than a year.
He said the awards should be distributed in the next few weeks, before Christmas.
Becker said the city has given service awards out every Christmas since at least 2001. It did not give the awards out in 2007 because of a sales tax shortage. In the past, it was $ 150 for those employed a year or longer and $ 75 for those with less than a year of service. Becker said if the city went that route, it could cost up to $ 80, 000.
Becker told the council that there should be enough money in the salaries budget at the end of the year to cover the $ 50, 000 expense. He asked the council for permission to go ahead with it, and the council agreed to meet again if there wasn’t enough money. Becker said he will know if there is enough money or not by the end of the month.
Ward 2 Alderman Kyle Cook said he is in favor of the $ 100 and $ 50 service awards and hopes that the council can review the 2008 budget next year once all the numbers have been crunched to see if the city ends in the black. If the city does end in the black for 2008, Cook said he wants to re-evaluate the amounts of the service awards and look into increasing them for 2009.
Becker said he will not know whether the city finished in the black until the end of next year’s first quarter.

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