Rison City Workers Get $600 Pay Raise

RISON - After reviewing the city’s finances, the Rison City Council approved Mayor Charles Roberts’ recommendation to give city employees a $600 pay raise for 2025.Roberts told the city council during its regular monthly meeting Tuesday night that though he recognizes the raise is very modest, he felt most comfortable with that number without jeopardizing the city’s finances in the future.“I hope that is not an insult,” he told the council referring to the raise.“I feel like we could do that (the $600 raise) without harming the city, but at least give the employees something,” Roberts said.The mayor said he spent a few hours looking over the city’s bank accounts from last year, and considering revenue from the general fund as well as other sources. While sales tax revenue for the city has remained healthy, Roberts said inflation has taken its toll on the city just as it has with personal households.“While some of these numbers look fantastic, some of these monies have not been moved to where they should be,” he told the council, referring to the fact that some of those funds in the city coffers are dedicated to certain expenses and cannot be used for salaries.Roberts pointed out during the discussion that while this year’s raise in minimal, the city was able to give each employee a $1,385 raise last year.Councilman Rodney Reed acknowledged the mayor’s assessment about keeping the raise low. However, he did mention the city could revisit the pay raise later this year to add more if the city’s finances merit it.Rodney Reed eventually made a motion to approve Roberts’ recommendation of a $600 raise. It was approved by a 6-0 roll call vote.Street ImprovementsRoberts also informed the council that several streets have been paved in the city using $292,000 from the State Aid City Street Program. The mayor said he concentrated on improving those...