Common Council

AREGULAR MEETING OFTHE COMMON COUNCIL OFTHE CITY OFBECKLEY CONVENED AT 6:30PMONJULY 11, 2023, INCOUNCIL CHAMBERS AND VIA WEB-X. PRESENT: Mayor Robert R.Rappold, Recorder-Treasurer Billie Trump, City Attorney BillFile, and Secretary Susan Miller. Council Members: Janine Bullock, Robert Canter, Robert Dunlap, Sherrie Hunter, Cody Reedy, Tom Sopher, andKevin Price. The following Department Heads were present: Director ofIT BillKelly, Assistant Director ofITAmy Evans, Anthony Martin (IT),Chief Wills ofBFD, Director ofBoard ofPublic Works (BPW) Pam Frey, Chief Code Enforcement Officer Donald Morgan, Chief ofBPD Dean Bailey, andDirector ofParks & Rec. Leslie Baker. The Mayor called themeeting toorder at6:30p.m.The public hadthe option tojointhe meeting either inperson orbyWEB-Xfrom theircomputer, orbyphone, using theweblink or phone number provided thedayofthemeeting ontheCity’swebpage atBeckley.orgorthe City’sFacebook page. Council dispensed withthereading ofminutes from theCity Council meeting dated June 27, 2023, copies ofwhich had beendistributed toeachmember. Council unanimously approved theminutes aswritten onamotion byCouncilman Sopher andseconded byCouncilman Price. Next ontheAgenda was theproposed $2,500.00salary increase forallsworn officers ofthe Beckley Police Department (BPD). The Mayor expressed hisappreciation fortheofficers of theBPD. Hesaid asMayor, hethinks theCity hasdone allitcandotomake the BPD thebest equipped police department intheState ofWV. The Mayor said inthepast twoyears each officer hasreceived a $6,500.00award from A.R.P.A.funds and2year-endpay supplements, intheamount of $850.00. Inthepast 2years each sworn officer hasreceived thisadditional amount totaling $8,200.00. The Mayor said theCity administration hasalways supported the police department and values what thePD does fortheCity. TheMayor said theCity does not take what thePD does forgranted. The Mayor saidtheCity hasfiveother major departments forexample theBoard ofPublic Works Department) who have employees thatareupat3:00 a.m.insub-zero temperatures toclear roads andsidewalks. IftheCity would grant anacross- the-board increase tomembers oftheFire Department, totheemployees atCity Hall, tothe Board ofPublic Works, ortheParks & Recreation Department, they would besurprised. He said theincrease intheamount of $2,500.00across theboard forsworn officers oftheBPD is theamount that canbeconsidered andapproved thisevening because itistheamount listed on theAgenda. Councilman Dunlap saidCouncil hadaWorkshop regarding the salary increase fortheBPD. Councilman Dunlap thanked Recorder-Treasurer Billie Trump forthedetailed information heprovided toCouncil sothey could know how torespond topeople who have asked them questions regarding this. Councilman Dunlap said asthe crime rate increases itis important tosupport law enforcement officers. Hesaid during theWorkshop everyone agreed anincrease isnecessary. Hesaid byincreasing the payforthe BPD hebelieves theCity can attract andretain thebest officers andbecome more competitive with other lawenforcement officers andagencies nearby. Hesaid numbers have been shared that may notbest describe fullcompensation theBPD officers receive. Hesaidimputed benefits matter butdonot always give afullpicture, soitput himinaposition ofneeding todomore research. He thanked Mr. Trump forproviding himwith thesalaries foremployees oftheBFD and the BPD. Hesaid some ofthisinformation was gained orreceived after theWorkshop. Councilman Dunlap said heisappreciative ofthethorough work the Beckley PDdoes. Councilman Dunlap said that after doing hisindependent research hethinks asalary increase intheamount of $8,000.00should beawarded totheBeckley PD. Councilman Dunlap said that herecommends anincrease of $8,000.00now andrevisit itatthemid-point ofthefiscal year (attheendofthiscalendar year) toseeifitissustainable. Heunderstands thatthe increase cannot betaken away butthinks thisisacompetitive increase inlight oftheCity experiencing anincrease incrime, drugs, etc. Hewould liketosee itvoted onthisevening. Councilman Reedy said heagrees with Councilman Dunlap. Hesaid comments thataremade bythepeople thatarearound himdonotrepresent theopinion ofeveryone. Hesaideach person speaks forthemself. Hesaidthathedoes notwant anyoftheofficers toleave theCity andseek employment elsewhere. He saidheiswilling todowhat hecantokeep theexisting officers working for theBPD. Hesaid thathehas kept andwillcontinue keeping hispromise tosupport theBPD. Councilman Reedy thanked theBeckley PDforallthatthey doforthe City. The Mayor asked City Attorney Mr.Filetoclarify if,because theAgenda item listsan increase specifically intheamount of $2,500.00, does thispreclude consideration ofanyother amount during thismeeting. Mr.Filesaid thatifCouncil desires toaward anamount inexcess oftheamount listed ontheAgenda, theitem should betabled atthismeeting because that would constitute amaterial change towhat thepublic hasbeen given notice was being considered atthismeeting. The public was not given notice thatCouncil was considering giving amuch larger amount than stated ontheAgenda. Councilwoman Hunter said she would liketomake amotion thatCouncil awards theBeckley PDanacross-the-board increase intheamount of $8,000.00. Councilman Reedy asked ifCouncilwoman Hunter canmake a motion topresent itatthenext meeting andvote onitthen. Councilman Dunlap said itisalso themotion thatwould include retroactive compensation. The Mayor saidthatMr.File suggested theissue betabled tonight because itrepresents amaterial difference. The Mayor asked Mr.Trump ifhehadanycomments. Mr.Trump said anacross theboard payincrease fortheBPD intheamount of $8,000.00would beatleast $500,000.00/yearadded ontothe BPD budget. Hesaid currently theBPD budget isapproximately $7M. This would raise the BPD budget bynearly tenpercent. Heasked where the money would come from. Councilwoman Hunter asked iftheCity would beabletoearmark theonepercent sales tax that comes into theCity quarterly andifitwould sustain theincrease for theBPD. Mr.Trump said that would beanassumption thattheone percent sales hasnot already been considered forother items theCity needs such asmaintenance, etc. Councilman Dunlap told Mr.Trump thatwasagood point, buthethinks Council maybeconsidering earmarking itforsomething they believe isreally needed. The Mayor said theonepercent sales taxhasbeen awonderful windfall fortheCity forthepast seven years (duetobecoming ahome rule City) and has enabled Mr.Trump toincrease theCity’scontribution tothe police andfire department’ scivil service contribution that theCity makes. This makes the City ofBeckley somewhat ofa shining starasfarasfinancing itsfireandpolice civil service. This allows the Citytohave a greater degree ofsolvency inthese programs than possibly anyother cityinthestate. The Mayor said theCity isalready utilizing aportion ofthat onepercent thatCouncilwoman Hunter referred toasameans toimprove the lives ofthose intheCity’spolice andfire department. Mr.Trump said that hewished themembers ofCouncil would have metwith him sothatthey could discuss thisandlook atthebudget more carefully andunderstand the repercussions tothebudget an $8,000.00increase across theboard fortheBPD may have. He said there aregoing tobesignificant repercussions. There will beproblems meeting theCity’s pension obligations andseveral other things willhave tobeputoff. Councilman Dunlap said thatMr. Trump’sexpertise isvery much appreciated. Councilwoman Bullock made amotion totable item number three ontonight’sagenda. Councilman Canter seconded themotion which was unanimously approved byCouncil. Councilman Reedy asked what theprocess is now thattheitem hasbeen tabled. Councilman Dunlap asked the Mayor iftheCity isable to ensure that thisitem canbeonthenext Agenda. TheMayor said thatheisnotable toensure that, buttheCity willstrive forthat. The Mayor saidthathehasanupcoming vacation scheduled with children andgrandchildren arriving later thisweek from California, but the City willdoitsbest tokeep moving forward regarding this. Mr.File saidaCouncil Workshop should bescheduled todiscuss thismatter further. Councilman Reedy said that he, Councilman Dunlap, andCouncilwoman Hunter expressed their opinions tonight. Hewould liketoknow theopinions ofother Council members andif more members agree, hethinks it should move forward more quickly. Councilwoman Bullock stated thatshe supports the across-the-board increase inthe amount of $8,000.00for theBeckley PD. OLD BUSINESS: Councilman Price asked foranupdate onanordinance regarding panhandling intheCity. The Mayor said there hasbeen alotofresearch andinformation regarding thisissue. Anorthern county tried togetanordinance adopted county-wide, but it was deemed unacceptable bytheA.C.L.U. Mr.Filesaid theCity islooking atalternatives and isworking with other Cities tobest decide how tomove forward onthis issue. NEW BUSINESS: Nocomments. PUBLIC COMMENTS: The Mayor announced ifcalling inbyphone dial *3toraise your hand. Ifconnected bycomputer: Click the “hand icon” onyour Participants panel. Mary West voiced herconcerns regarding drivers speeding onLarew Avenue. Shestated she supports Beckley PDofficers receiving competitive pay. Sheasked forthepiles oftrash at 209Larew Avenue tobecleaned up. Roger Cuevas, thefather ofpolice officer Ryan Cuevas, spoke infavor ofthecompetitive payincrease fortheBPD. Police Officer Joseph Hunter thanked Council members who commented tonight regarding supporting thecompetitive pay increase andspoke infavor oftheincrease. Police Officer Jaime Blume spoke infavor ofthe competitive payincrease. Stephanie French with theRaleigh County Prevention Coalition spoke infavor ofthecompetitive payincrease fortheBPD andfor hiring more officers. Michelle Cochran said theamount ofmoney spent ontraining officers only tohavethem leave isnot agood use oftheCity’sfunds. Shesaid duetomaking apost onWoodcrest’sFacebook group thenumber ofstray cats hasdecreased which tellsherthat thecats have irresponsible owners. Sherequested thatCouncil pass ordinances making petowners responsible. Danielle Stewart spoke infavor ofthecompetitive payincrease fortheBPD officers. With there being nofurther comments, Council unanimously approved adjourning themeeting onamotion byCouncilman Dunlap andseconded byCouncilwoman Bullock. TheMayor adjourned themeeting at7:13p.m. Mayor Recorder-Treasurer