CORNELIUS TODAY • June 2018 • 13
News-e News from www.CorneliusToday.com Firefighters getting $2 an hour pay raise Resident Michelle Ferlauto said nickel-and-diming the force is insulting to them and the community. “I am so disappointed in two of our commissioners conduct,” she said.
May 21. By Dave Vieser. More than two dozen firefighters, residents and TV reporters turned out tonight for the first public hearing on the proposed $23.4 million town budget. But even before the attendees had a chance to speak, town officials unveiled a revised budget which includes funds for a $2 an hour increase. The same budget amendment also reduced the amount of money to be used for the Exit 28 aesthetic improvements from $1.39 million to $1.1 million, with the new found $290,000 to be used for costs such as more pay for firefighters. Fire Chief Neal Smith asked for a $2 an hour pay increase to $15 an hour for firefighters. It would cost about $120,000 a year in a $23.4 million municipal budget.
Both expressed concerns about pay raises for firefighters. Miltich was caught on tape being critical of more pay for firefighters. The hue and cry over the budget and firefighter pay began when budget hawk Gilroy said $2 an hour more was too much in light of the growth of the fire department budget vis a vis the population growth. Commissioner Denis Bilodeau said he has been in favor of the Chief’s request for $2 from the start of the budget process. “The case for an increase is compelling when you consider the statewide average pay and excellent performance of our firefighters. There should never have been a debate,” he said. The official town budget must be approved in time for the beginning of the 2018-19 Fiscal Year July 1.
Retail project on W. Catawba at Knox stuck in traffic modeling right now May 11. The approval process for the new shopping center at West Catawba and Knox Road has come to a halt while the town’s traffic engineer compiles new data in conjunction with the NCDOT. Cornelius Planning Director Wayne Herron anticipates that the required hearings before the town Architectural Review Board, Planning Board and Board of Commissioners will not resume until late summer. Soon after the first public hearing in October 2017, the Town started the Traffic Impact Analysis, Herron said. “However, the DOT required the TIA modeling be done with a newer version of the transmodeler program. The town’s engineer, Kimley Horn Associates, needed some more up-to-date transmodeler files from DOT to complete the project. The DOT was able to
provide these files to the Town just last month. and we expect the TIA draft to be complete around the first week of June,” Herron said. The transmodeler program is a versatile traffic simulation package applicable to a wide array of planning tasks. Herron said once the TIA draft is complete, the applicant—Charter Cornelius LP—will be able to complete their site design.
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