District Court Division II staff are asking the Pine Bluff City Council to pay them the same as their District Court Division I peers, who are paid by the county.
“Seeing as both courts are basically doing the same job, I feel like leveling the salaries would be fair to all those involved,” said Veronica Young, District Court Division II clerk.
Discussion of the request is expected at the special City Council Ways and Means Committee meeting 4 p.m. Thursday in council chambers at the civic complex, along with several other matters pertaining to the 2012 city budget as the council works toward approving a final budget.
District Court Division II staff and Judge John Kearney work court cases on incidents that occur within the city limits and their salaries are paid out of the city budget. Working out of the same building in downtown Pine Bluff, District Court Division I staff and Judge Kim Bridgforth work court cases for the county and state and are paid out of the Jefferson County budget, as approved by the quorum court.
Young said that the salaries for the two courts had been out of sync in the past, and after staff appealed to the council in 2010, the Division II salaries were increased to match those of Division I for employees with the same experience and qualifications. Since then, however, Division I employees have gotten increases from the county while Division II employees have not seen their salaries increased by the city.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
According to figures provided by Young that she said she received from the county clerk’s office, some of the salaries are the same, while others differ as much as $4,900. Kearney and Bridgforth, the judges for both courts, are paid the same amount.
Young provided the number of cases filed in each court during 2010: 30,509 in Division I and 34,902 for Division II.
“The only thing I want is fair and equal pay between the courts,” Young said. “One court is not more important than the other. We’re all here to serve the community.”
Mayor Carl A. Redus Jr. asked for more time to research the issue and talk to county leaders when the topic was raised at a Dec. 2 budget meeting of the City Council Public Safety Committee meeting.
“Let us handle this,” Redus said. “I can assure you we will handle this in an equitable way.”
After some heated discussion and a split vote, the committee agreed to postpone discussion of the raises until February, when Redus said he would have the issue researched and be ready to make a recommendation.
Chairman Irene Holcomb said the issue needed to be addressed promptly and that the city administration needed to improve its posture toward the court staff.
“I don’t like the way [Young]’s been treated,” Holcomb said.
“Mrs. Holcomb, I can’t tell you anything more than that we are working on it,” Redus said.
Alderman Thelma Walker, who is not on the committee and did not vote, said that she thinks city council committees and aldermen have the authority to make suggestions and decisions and questioned what the meetings are for if not for decision-making.
“I think it’s a simple matter,” Walker said.
At a subsequent budget meeting on Dec. 5 of the Ways and Means Committee, Walker motioned to go ahead with granting the request to increase the salaries as part of the 2012 budget. Holcomb seconded.
Redus again opposed making the decision at this time, asking for more time to research. Kearney attended that meeting and thanked the aldermen for their support. Kearney is also requesting the council budget another clerk for his court, for an annual total of $29,419 in salary and benefits.
A final vote is expected on the matter and the entire 2012 budget on Monday, although the council has the legal authority to wait until January 2012 to pass a budget.
Several other budget items may be discussed at Thursday’s meeting:
• What type of raises to give all city employees or public safety employees
• A requested $12,500 grant to Juvenile Court
• A $43,000 match to the Grider Field Municipal Airport terminal rehabilitation project
• $87,000 in proposed improvements to the Chester Hynes and Merrill community centers
• Replenishing a $500,000 contribution to the reserve fund that was taken out in 2011 for use on other projects
• The $500,000 contribution to the reserve fund for 2012
• $15,000 for the project to repair to roof on the historic Saenger Theatre
Redus has said that there is not enough money in the 2012 budget for all of these items to be fulfilled at full cost and that the council must decide what to fund and what to cut.