Doniphan City Council Looks Ahead To 2025

The council discussed one item of old business, that of adopting a process and/or guidelines for deciding when and how much to increase employee pay.

Ultimately, the council approved using employee evaluations as a means to decide merit pay increases.

At a previous meeting it had been decided to raise employee base pay annually with a three percent increase. The consensus of the council was that there should also be a process for rewarding employees with more money in their pockets, on the basis job performance.

The city will continue to raise the base pay of all employees with an annual three percent cost of living increase

In 2025, evaluation scores will determine how much more than the cost of living adjustment employees will receive.

Employees will become eligible for the bonus increases after they have been employed for a year, and the evaluations will take place annually.

Increases will be applicable on July 1, 2025; however, the three percent increase the council had agreed upon for 2025 will start Jan. 1.

The supervisors of each department will evaluate their employees, and supervisors will be evaluated by the council and/or mayor.

The mayor will submit some examples of the type of evaluation form the city will use, and that will be approved at a future meeting, with a view to have the evaluations completed by April 1.

The council approved renewing its contract with Ozark Applicators Sandblasting & Painting on a $77,500 bid to provide water tower maintenance services.

The city had asked for separate quotes on various jobs that will need to be done.

Therefore, the company had included a breakdown of those costs, which included:

* $68,500 for power washing of the exterior coating of 150,000 gallon elevated tank, hand tool clean all abraded areas, spot prime all abraded areas with Tnemec #27, roller apply one full intermediate coat of Tnemec series #27, and roller apply one full finish coat of Tnemec series #1074U, to manufacturers’ specifications. Also, the logo will be replaced as is on two sides of the tank;

* $1,250 for regrouting riser and leg foundations;

* $150 for replacing the overflow screen;

* $1,100 for replacing the 90-degree insulated cover on the ground storage fill pipe; and

* $6,500 for power washing the exterior of the ground storage tank.

Mayor Cox noted that this same company has been providing satisfactory services for the city for a number of years, and they also do annual inspections of the water tank and three years ago, stripped and repainted.

Money has already been earmarked for water tank maintenance in next year’s budget.

The council approved Kara Phillips-Ritchey as the city’s new director for the city ball park program. (See related article).

City Utilities Director Jarret Ficke reported he and the office personnel had worked together and all but completed all but four of the LMI (low-moderate income) surveys which the Ozark Foothills Regional Planning Commission requires for next year’s grant cycle, which among other things will fund a housing complex in Doniphan.

In other new business the council approved accepting a $3,500 quote to hire accountants Kraft, Miles & Tatum, LLC., to provide quarterly reports for payroll, W-2s, and year-end reports.

City Treasurer Chasity Mathis said the company bases its costs on the number of employees, so the cost could possibly reach $4,000.

However, she said, “I would rather have a CPA behind our quarterly reports and W-2s, just to make sure everything is correct. The IRS fines are not cheap if you make a mistake.”

The council meets every first Tuesday of the month, at 6 p.m., at City Hall, and the building provides elevator access to those meetings.