• Council to call on six candidates in pair of public work sessions

SILVERHILL, Alabama — Interviews for a new police chief in Silverhill will be conducted in a pair of public work sessions beginning May 17, officials announced during the council’s regular meeting May 2.

The town has been contracting with the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Department to assist with police protection since voting to terminate Police Chief Kim Wasdin in January.

The application process for hiring a new chief ended April 14 and six candidates have been chosen for review by the town council, Mayor Tim Wilson said.

“We had several candidates that qualified for the open police officer position,” Wilson said, which will be filled once a new chief is hired.

The council decided May 2 to conduct the interviews during public work sessions, the first of which will be before the council’s regular meeting on May 17, which was postponed from May 16 because of the Robertsdale High School graduation. The council also called a special work session for May 23, if necessary. Both work sessions will begin at 5:30 p.m. The council’s regular meeting on May 17 will begin at 6:30 p.m.

In other business at its May 2 meeting, the council unanimously approved four separate resolutions, giving town employees a 1 percent cost of living raise. All resolutions were approved unanimously with council member Jared Lyles not present at the meeting.

The town currently has seven employees with two vacancies in the town’s police department and one vacancy in the town’s utilities department.

The council voted on each resolution individually, first to suspend the rules, then to adopt the resolutions, each of which amended a previous resolution approved in April of last year.

The council first approved a resolution to approve raises for hourly employees.

The amendment includes a starting salary of $18,532.80 an hourly rate of $8.91. After one year, the employee is eligible for a merit promotion to Step 2 and is eligible for another merit promotion the following year.

After another year, the employee is eligible for a promotion to Step 4, with Step 5 and 6 at two-year intervals and Step 7 and 8 at three-year intervals. According to the Resolution a base salary for Step 8 is set at $34,569.60 or an hourly rate of $16.62.

The next resolution approved raises for the assistant utility superintendent, utility court clerk and office clerk.

Starting salary for the assistant utility superintendent is $19,364.80 or $9.31 per hour; utility court clerk at $19,739.20 or $9.49 per hour and office clerk at $18,032.00 or $9.15 per hour.

Raises for all three positions include Step 2, 3 and 4 promotions at one-year-intervals, Step 5 at two years following Step 4, and Step 6 and 7 at three years. The assistant utility superintendent and utility court clerk positions also include Step 9, 10, 11 and 12 raises at four-year intervals.

Step 7 base salary for the office clerk position is set at $34,070.40 or $16.38 per hour; Step 11 base salaries are set at $42,660.80 or $20.51 per hour for assistant utility superintendent and $45,988.80, $22.11 per hour, for utility court clerk.

The next resolution approved raises for hourly police department employees with a starting salary at $21,652.80 per year, or $10.41 per hour with Step 2 and 3 raises at one year, Step 4 and 5 every two years and Step 6, 7 and 8 at three-year intervals with a base salary for Step 7 set at $37,606.40 or $18.08 per hour.

The final resolution set salaries for salaried employees, including the utility superintendent, town clerk/treasurer and police chief. Step 2, 3 and 4 promotions are available at one-year intervals with Step 5 an additional two years, and Step 6, 7 and 8 promotions at three-year intervals. Base salary for all three positions is set at $25,812.80 per year. Step 7 base salary for all three positions is set at $45,988.80 per year.

Also on May 2, the council also discussed conducting an engineering study with Denise King of Goodwyn Mills and Cawood for drainage improvements on the northwest portion of town.