Deana Stroisch
The State Journal-Register
Feb 13, 2013
Springfield aldermen are divided over whether Mayor Mike Houston’s administration should be required to get city council approval to have more than 1,500 employees on the city payroll. The proposal, sponsored by Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin, Ward 1 Ald. Frank Edwards and Ward 9 Ald. Steven Dove, was put on next week’s debate agenda, after attempts to hold it in committee and put it on the consent agenda both failed.
But it appeared on Wednesday that next week’s vote could result in a 5-5 tie. In the event of a tie, the mayor decides. After the meeting, Houston wouldn’t say how he would vote.
The proposal would not allow the total number of employees to exceed 1,500, not counting temporary or seasonal positions, unless first approved by aldermen. It also requires the human resources department to provide the council with a monthly report detailing the current number of employees, broken down by department.
As of Wednesday, Houston said, the city’s workforce totaled 1,467 employees. The proposed budget for fiscal 2014, which begins March 1, authorizes 1,526.
Edwards said the proposal isn’t about a specific administration but making the city more accountable to citizens.
“When you go to the citizens of this community and say you want a sales tax increase, at the same time you’re not willing to limit the number of employees, then you need to explain that,” Edwards said, referring to the mayor’s plans to propose a sales tax hike to pay for infrastructure needs.
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Joe McMenamin for Ward 7 