JAY — Selectpersons will discuss the Fire Rescue Department’s pay scale at 6 p.m. Monday, Jan. 9, at the Town Office.
The discussion stems from an increase in the minimum wage, from $7.50 an hour to $9 per hour, effective Saturday. The wage increases to $10 per hour Jan. 1, 2018; $11 per hour Jan. 1, 2019; and $12 per hour Jan. 1, 2020, according to state law.
For the first half of the town’s 2017-18 budget the minimum wage will be $9 an hour and in the second half it will be $10 per hour, Town Manager Shiloh LaFreniere said Thursday.
The town is in the process of putting together a proposed budget for the fiscal year that runs from July 1, 2017, through June 30, 2018.
Selectpersons on Dec. 26 approved setting hourly wages at $9 for nine firefighters who earned less than that, LaFreniere said. A vacant captain position will remain so through June 30 to cover the cost.
The increases were between 75 cents and $1.25 an hour, depending on the position.
The board also increased wages for ballot clerks and registrars of voters to comply with the new minimum wage law. The increase was $1.50 for clerks and $1 for registrars.
The current firefighter pay scale has a base hourly rate set for each position. Any earned certifications add an additional 25 cents to 50 cents cumulatively to the wage. The scale went into effect July 1, 2015, and has five categories.
When the pay scale was done it gave some incentive to people to further their certifications, LaFreniere said.
dperry@sunmediagroup.net
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