NEWPORT-A total of 47 low- to mid-range City of Newport employees, plus seven department directors, will receive their final step raises for the period of March 15 through June 30.

That was the decision reached Tuesday, March 9, at the City Council meeting.

The raises for the 54 people for the three and one-half month period will total $13,182, City Administrator Scott Collins said.

"The step policy will be abolished" with the end of the fiscal year on June 30, and a new policy based on employees' evaluations and performances will be enacted, Collins explained to a reporter on Wednesday.

The raises approved at Tuesday's City Council meeting were in accordance with the step raise policy the city adopted in 2006, according to Collins.

The decision followed a lengthy debate at the meeting.

Alderman Dennis Thornton argued for doing away with any raises until a new policy can be crafted for the 2010-2011 fiscal year, which begins July 1.

He proposed a motion to that effect, which Alderman John Bugg seconded.

However, during a roll call vote, only Thornton and Bugg voted in favor of it, and the three other aldermen voted no. The motion was therefore defeated.

Freddie Gregg said, "I would like a workshop on what we have in front of us soon," referring to the detailed charts of step raises distributed to Council members.

However, alderman Kenny Morgan argued for immediate action.

"Let's approve it, be done with it, and have an actual pay raise system (in the new fiscal year) that everyone can understand," Morgan said.

City Administrator Scott Collins said he was leaving vacant the position of human resources director budgeted for the current fiscal year in order to pay for step raises for March 15 through June 30.

Morgan proposed a motion to accept what department heads had agreed to in their respective departments following consultation with Collins.

"Let's pay it out and be done with it," Morgan said.

But Thornton said approving a flawed step system now would be an injustice.

"That's why I say ... postpone it until July," in the next fiscal year, Thornton said.

Thornton added in response to another alderman's comment, "I think we need to question the competency of our department heads" in deciding on raises within their departments.

In a roll call vote, Morgan's motion approving the step raises was approved 4-1. Thornton was the only alderman to vote no.

In other action, the Council voted unanimously to spend up to $37,500 for a contract with Barge, Waggoner, Sumner & Cannon, an engineering firm, to oversee the bid process and entire construction phase of the Riverwalk/greenway project.

In other business, the Council agreed to allow senior citizens 55 years or older to provide free labor to all departments in the city, if so desired by all parties concerned.

"It gives seniors ... not working free labor in all departments. It's a whole lot like our summer youth program," Mayor Connie Ball said, in arguing in favor of the program.

The program is called the Title V Senior Community Service Employment Program that is a part of the East Tennessee Human Resource Agency (ETHRA).

Volunteers are also responsible for their own health insurance. The City will provide workmen's compensation insurance, Collins said.

In another matter, the Council agreed to amend the Farmer's Market rules to allow "value-added products," such as homemade breads, jams, and jellies, to be sold at the market as long as they contain locally grown ingredients.

Amelia Taylor, Farmer's Market manager, admitted the organizers of the market usually must rely on the word of the suppliers when they say local ingredients have been used in their products, though in some cases, they might actually inspect the production process to determine validity of the claims.

In another matter, the Council discussed the transfer on March 3 of administrative assistant Amanda White from City Hall to the Newport Police Department.

Newport Police Department Chief Maurice Shults said, "The only problem I see is in her salary. There's a large discrepancy in pay" between the two positions. He added, "Scott (Collins) and I agreed, and Amanda understood, that there would be some salary adjustment."

Earlier in the meeting, Mayor Ball congratulated Shults for recently graduating the Southeastern Command and Leadership Academy in Chattanooga.

In addition, the City Council:

• Voted for East Tennessee Development District to oversee the administrative process for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program grant of $240,000 to remove blighted or condemned properties;

• Adopted Woodstone Drive as part of the city's street system;

• Passed what Collins termed a "housekeeping" resolution regarding authorized signatures on bank accounts;

• Approved Unity in the Community to organize an Armed Forces Day festival;

• Delayed until next month's meeting a vote on a proposal to change the fees for adopting dogs and cats at the Animal Shelter; and

• Approved four roadblock requests, for the Newport Firefighter's Association, St. Jude's Hospital, Keep Cocke County Beautiful, and Senior Olympics softball.