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Meetings of the Winchester City Commission often have a common feel to them. 

However, late in a meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 19th, emotions ran higher than usual. 

A motion to rescind and reconsider a compensation plan previously approved at a meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 15th, was denied, yet not without multiple thoughts and opinions being shared by City Commissioners on both sides. 

Commissioner Hannah Toole made the motion. 

“I motion to rescind the vote for the pay study and to have it revisited at the next meeting, if not [at] a special meeting,” she said, noting several reasons as to why she disagreed with the study. “I think that it is not an appropriate pay study with the outcome that I believe would have been desirable. I want to revisit it.” 

As stated in an official statement by the city dated November 19 regarding the classification and compensation study, “The City of Winchester approved and entered into an agreement with Evergreen Solutions, LLC in the summer of 2023 to conduct a classification and compensation study. Contracting with an external firm provides an impartial evaluation, minimizing internal bias and lending credibility to the results…the results of the study found that average salaries were below the market at a minimum, indicating that we are less competitive in attracting and retaining employees. The result was implementing a new pay scale with an average percentage increase of 6.7% overall. Corrections were factored in, including keeping employees’ longevity ranking, pay grade penetration, and educational gains.” 

An internal audit was completed for the study, and a recommendation was made to the commission, which approved it at the October 15th meeting. 

While acknowledging that she had voted for it, Toole also further elaborated. 

“It was a lot of information to take in, and I will admit that I blindly just voted to support it assuming due diligence and oversight [had] been committed in what I would consider a proper manner,” she said. 

She raised questions about pay increases, which were documented in the study. 

“I have a concern with the pay increases of some of our newer employees, including a city manager pay increase of 19.6%, and a human resources director pay increase of 36.8%,” she said. 

City attorney Bill Dykeman responded. 

“The figures for both the cost of the study and part of the pay plan were contained in the budget…the legal relevance of that is that if the pay study is rescinded or revoked or amended, the budget would [also] have to be amended,” he said. “It’s my opinion that under Robert’s Rules of Order, a motion made without notice requires [a] two-thirds vote to do that today.” 

Mayor JoEllen Reed said she was against rescinding the vote. 

“The city, over the years, has given minimal raises…but to my knowledge, they have not made these wages competitive. They have not been competitive wages. They have not brought the position to market value, and that’s what this study was all about. We’re not talking about people, but we’re talking about positions,” she said. “When you pay your employees what they deserve in the market, you’re going to get good employees…we have not been to market value in the years that I’ve sat on this commission, and now we finally have a compensation study that takes care of everyone in the city.” 

Noting that city employees were due to receive their third paycheck since the order was acted on, Reed noted that she was against any delay. 

“We are here to protect our employees…and to provide the services to this community,” she said. “This is the third paycheck these people are getting ready to receive…I [am] not voting to take back what we just gave them.” 

At the meeting, Michael Cullen, a prospective business owner with an interest in Winchester, mentioned concerns that he felt could arise if any new action was taken. 

Yet, as might be expected, opinions were split. 

The Engine House Pizza Pub, located at 9 W. Lexington, raised concerns about the study. 

While Shannon Cox voted alongside City Commissioners Kenny Book, Kitty Strode, and Mayor Reed to not rescind the vote from October 15, he expressed frustration over the differences in range penetration and the fact that Toole required utilizing an Open Records Request to obtain certain information.

“I find it unconscionable that a person sitting up here has to file an Open Records Request to get information that they voted on before,” he said. “I guarantee you that nobody at the Board of Education has to file an Open Records Request to get information….and nobody on the Fiscal Court has to file an Open Records Request to get information that they voted on.” 

This is a developing story.