Budget spat — mayor and councilman

Between the possibilities of rewarding 8% or 10% salary increases, Walhalla City Council is opting for the lower figure.  In a budget workshop, the council voted 6-2 in favor of 8% across-the-board pay increases for city employees during 2022-23.  Voting no were councilmen Keehn and Jordan.  Councilman Grant Keehn, worried about rising inflation, pushed for a 10% increase.  Councilman Keith Pace said 10% would force the city to create the revenue thru an additional water rate increase and that, he explained, would further burden the utility customers.  However, Keehn urged his colleagues to use money previously designated for a greenway, which he refers to as a “sidewalk.”  That’s when voices got raised, as Mayor Danny Edwards, joined by Councilman Pace, called discussion of tapping the greenway account out of order because the matter has been decided.  But Keehn took further exception, but to no avail.  The seats last night in the Depot meeting room filled with supporters of the way that the majority of the council has been running the city—not only the commitment to the greenway project but to further advance Main Street re-vitalization.  Keehn believes that basic city services, such as police and fire, are shortchanged because of the city’s continued funding of the Main Street program.