City employees gathered en masse to let the mayor and Council know they want to be part of the budget-tightening dialogue. More than a hundred rank-and-file workers— firefighters, police officers, clerks and others—showed up, and union representatives spoke, asking to be a part of solving the budget shortfall. They said Mayor Richard Berry assured their inclusion in the discussion, but so far that hasn’t happened. At the last meeting, Councilors Brad Winter and Dan Lewis sponsored a bill that ordered the city to take all necessary action—including legal action—to evaluate the validity of Ed Adams’ employment agreement. Adams is a former chief operating officer who was moved to the Municipal Development Department but allowed to keep his $147,000 annual pay. The measure passed 5-4 but was vetoed by Berry. His veto survived its first attempted override at the Monday, March 15 meeting when Winter failed to corner the two-thirds vote required. The Council voted 5-3 to move on to other city issues. Councilor Don Harris was absent from the meeting.
Council Watch:
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