Lawton firefighters may get pay raise

Proposals to give Lawton firefighters a pay raise and increase the fees for those who haul debris to the landfill in uncovered vehicles will be considered by the City Council today.

City firefighters are the latest group to see their pay adjusted, as the council and city administrators recalibrate pay scales to bring City of Lawton employees in line with employees in peer cities. City administrators said the move is designed to help attract employees to vacant positions, but also to keep employees already working for the city in their positions.

City Council members started the ball rolling earlier this year by changing the pay scale for general employees (non-administrative and non-union employees), an adjustment that gave those employees an average increase of 5 percent effective July 1, the start of the new fiscal year. More discussion was needed before the council agreed on the executive pay scale, the salaries for upper management, and that adjust was made retroactive to July 1.

Negotiations with the fire union led to salary adjustments for a third employee group. Because of a clause in the existing multi-year fire contract, Lawton firefighters are entitled to the 5 percent pay increase and the July 1 retroactive application. But, because of the staff time and “significant hardship” recalculating the fire department’s pay would cause, the union agreed to exchange the retroactive application for an additional 1.5 percent increase. City administrators said that means fire pay would increase 6.5 percent, effective Oct. 16 (the beginning of the city’s next pay period).

The increase is to be applied across the fire department’s salary schedule, which includes 22 grades, each with nine steps. The pay would be in place through June 30, 2025, the end of the existing contract.

In another employee-related issue, the council will formally sign off on a decision it made Sept. 26 to name Donalynn Blazek-Scherler Lawton city clerk, by approving an employment contract. That contract sets provisions already agreed to at the Sept. 26 meeting, to include a salary of $85,009.60 to work as city clerk while keeping her previous duties as council liaison. The contract also specifies a transition period from Oct. 2-27, with Blazek-Scherler formally assuming all city clerk duties Oct. 30 with the retirement of City Clerk Traci Hushbeck.

Among other things, the contract sets Blazek-Scherler’s duties, specifying she will: supervise day-to-day operation and exert administration over the City Clerk’s office, to include supervision of its employees. While the city clerk and city manager both work directly for the City Council, the city clerk is viewed as the administrative equivalent of a department head, responsible to the city manager on employee personnel matters. As a council employee, Blazek-Scherler’s position is subject to termination by a majority vote of the council, but she would be entitled to three months severance pay if that happened.

Fees may triple for those with uncovered loads

In other business, the council will look at a staff proposal to more than triple the fee charged to those who haul uncovered loads of debris to the city landfill. That fee, now $28.75 per load, was designed to prompt those who haul debris to ensure their debris is not dropped or blown onto city streets. It has been a long-standing problem, one decried by the city itself as well as residents who live on or adjacent to the common routes to the city landfill.

The proposed fee increase would charge $100 for uncovered residential loads and $200 for uncovered commercial loads. Commercial loads are defined as those hauled by any vehicle larger than 1 ton or by a vehicle with commercial markings or tags.