Pay Raises for Elected Officials?

The Zanesville Ways and Means Committee met Monday to discuss a variety of topics, including raises for elected officials.

Budget & Finance Director, Rhonda Heskett, proposed to form an outside committee to compare current wages of Zanesville elected officials to those in other cities of our size. Specific job duties and experience would be a factor in the raises.

“I felt really good about it, I think that people recognize this takes away personalities or emotions and puts it out there into a more general public,” Heskett said.

Plans for Columbia Gas to lease back property on Fairview Road from the city was also discussed in the meeting. The property would potentially be a location for a new pipeline yard. Proceeds from that lease will go into the fire capital projects fund.

“The council previously entertained bids to purchase the Fairview Road property, we received one bid, the council rejected that bid,” said Public Service Director, Jay Bennett. “There was an interest in leasing the city’s property and what the council did was allowed the Community Improvement Corp., the CIC, to negotiate a potential lease for that property.”

The 10-year lease would give the city $650,000 for fire-department improvements.