Troutman Council approves raise for town manager, COVID bonuses for full-time employees

Posted on by Mike Fuhrman

BY DEBBIE PAGE 
debbiepage.iredellfreenews@gmail.com

After a closed session to discuss Town Manager Ron Wyatt’s job performance, Troutman Town Council members voted to give Wyatt a 15 percent raise during its December pre-agenda meeting.

The council also approved use of some of the town’s federal American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to give employee bonuses after two years of dedication to their work and customer service despite COVID challenges.

WYATT PAY INCREASE

According to Mayor Teross Young, Council members agreed to do a mid-year performance evaluation of Wyatt’s performance.

“Over the last six months, Mr. Wyatt has provided the leadership the council was looking for in a manager,” Young said. “He has hired several new additions to help keep our town moving forward, such as a parks and recreation director, finance director, planning director ,and police chief to name a few. He has helped implement a strategy for our planned town hall as well as infrastructure and facility needs.”

Based on the evaluation, they voted to increase Wyatt’s salary, Young concluded.

Currently, Wyatt earns $99,956, according to Finance Director Justin Mundy. The raise will bring his salary to approximately $114,950 per year. The increase goes into effect on January 1.

Wyatt said his beginning salary was initially set lower until council had a chance to measure his job performance and productivity. Other town manager salaries in comparable municipalities are also higher, according to their analysis.

Wyatt was “appreciative of the reviews that they gave and for all the productivity we have had in the year. I appreciate the confidence Town Council gave to me.”

EMPLOYEE BONUSES

Council instructed Wyatt to look at other nearby towns’ ARP bonus policy and decide what would be appropriate for Troutman to reward its employees’ loyalty and longevity during the difficulties posed during the pandemic.

After studying their actions, Wyatt decided to adopt a tiered bonus plan as Statesville and Mooresville did, depending on the date of the staff member’s employment.

If full-time town employees were hired prior to July 1, they received a $3,000 bonus. Employees added after that date received $1,500. Part-time employees were not eligible.

The bonus rewards “employees’ impact during the town’s COVID response,” said Wyatt. Employees received their bonuses this week.