Council flags large payroll increases, considers moving a contractor to employee and raising inspection fees
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Summary
Councilors reviewed payroll lines and discussed converting long‑term contractors to employees, the effect on benefits and payroll totals, and pushed to research higher building‑inspection fees to reflect market rates. An agenda item on raising fees will appear at next week's council meeting.
Virgin — At the May 14 work meeting, Virgin officials focused on personnel costs in the proposed FY2025 budget and on fees that offset inspection and permitting costs.
Council and staff said the draft includes roughly $167,000 in payroll increases for the coming fiscal year. Those increases reflect raises approved this year, the conversion of some part‑time positions to full time (staff cited a recent example where an employee moved from part‑time to full‑time), and projected full‑year costs for staff who started mid‑year.
Staffing and contractor conversions
Councilors discussed converting a long‑term contractor into a town employee. A staff member raised the idea of making the contractor (named in meeting notes as Jean Garotte) a direct town employee to simplify supervision and benefits; Jean reportedly said he would not object to the change. Councilors asked the incoming town manager to work with the affected staff and to consider a September budget amendment if a hire or pay change occurs mid‑year.
Building inspection and permit fees
The council also reviewed inspection fees. Council staff reported the town currently pays a local building inspector $25 per inspection and that the inspector had indicated that rate was no longer sustainable. Councilors asked staff to research comparable fees (one citation in the discussion suggested $35 per residential inspection as a local market rate) and to place “raising fees” on the agenda for the next regular council meeting so the council can consider an ordinance or fee schedule change.
Budget impact and next steps
- Payroll baseline: staff said the current budget year line for payroll is about $453,400 (figures in the draft are approximate and staff committed to supplying exact line‑by‑line current totals when they post the updated packet).
- Council directed staff to research inspection and permitting fees, present comparative rates and recommend fee schedule changes so the town can recoup inspection costs via permit receipts rather than general fund allocations.
Ending
The council placed a fee‑increase discussion on an upcoming meeting agenda and asked staff to include any recommended changes in the revised budget materials to be posted before the public hearing.