By June Bigsby
POMPANO BEACH — At a December 10 Pompano Beach city commission meeting, a proposal to increase wages for Pompano Beach’s general employees was denied. The move denied raises for the city’s more than 500 employees right before the holiday season.
At the commission’s second reading of a labor agreement, the commission voted to not move forward with an agreement that included up to a four-percent merit-based increase and an extra paid holiday for the city’s employees.
Vice Mayor Alison Fournier, newly elected Commissioner Audrey Fesik and 20-year-veteran Beverly Perkins voted against the employee raises after a discussion about the city’s four-day work week.
Fournier referenced the four-day work week and a delay in building inspections. “We’ve got to figure out a way to do better for people with their building department needs. With this work schedule the city has and the number of four-day weekends the city has, the people are not happy.”
According to the city, the building department has been issuing customer satisfaction surveys since 2020 and .5 percent of the 8,000 completed surveys mention the four-day work week.
Fournier says she receives many complaints from residents on the issue.
Commissioners Rhonda Eaton, Darlene Smith, and Mayor Rex Hardin voted in favor of the labor agreement. The vote was three to three.
“It’s an impasse with the union and all city employees,” said Mark Berman, City Attorney. “It’s never happened before.”
Mayor Rex Hardin asked Fournier to clarify her vote. “You’re voting against the union contract because of the four-day work week for the city?”
City Manager Greg Harrison added, “The four-day work week is not part of this, it is not germane to this item.”
Berman added that this vote came as a surprise and at the “worst possible time of year… during the holidays where many people have financial expectations.”
A special meeting will be held Monday, Dec. 16, 1 p.m.
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