Highfill OKs pay raise for next mayor
HIGHFILL — The city council in Highfill passed ordinances at its monthly meeting on Sept. 27 to purchase air packs for the fire department, increase pay for the next mayor, rezone lands, and accept final plats for subdivisions.
With Justin Allen, Chris Holland and Jayme Thompson voting no; Jeremy Rogers, Toby Lester and Jack Loyd voting yes; and Mayor Michelle Rieff casting a tie-breaking vote; the council passed an ordinance on three readings setting the base salary for the Highfill Mayor, beginning on Jan. 1, 2023, at $40,000 per year with a maximum salary of $65,000 per year.
Mayor Rieff is not seeking reelection due to plans to move out of state, so the pay increase will be for the mayor elected in November and taking office on Jan. 1.
Rieff explained in an email when the issue was first raised that the city needs to make it possible for its mayor to devote more time to the position due to the city’s continuing growth.
Holland voiced concerns due to talk by the Northwest Arkansas
National Airport of deannexing from the city.
Both Rieff and city attorney Jay Williams said that any de-annexation would not be happening soon since it would require special legislation.
In an email on Sept. 28, Williams explained that “de-annexation can be a complicated subject under Arkansas law. Highfill believes it has been a good neighbor to XNA, and Highfill is not aware of any present circumstances that would allow XNA to simply make a decision to ‘de-annex.’”
According to Rieff, Highfill receives approximately $500,000 of its $750,000 per year in sales tax revenue from businesses located at the airport.
The council passed on its second and third readings, and with an emergency clause, an ordinance authorizing the fire department to purchase five Scott X3 Air Packs, 10 SCBA bottles and five Scott AV-3000HT face masks for the fire department for a purchase price not to exceed $52,000.
The council passed the ordinance on its first reading in August but failed to suspend the rules requiring the reading of an ordinance on three separate days and by heading only.
An ordinance was passed on three readings to amend the city code to show 2040 noise decibel contours associated with Northwest Arkansas National Airport.
The change reflects the 60- and 65-decibel average and projected day and night sound levels established by the airport and will be shown on the final plat of properties near the airport.
Rezoning requests were approved for land which was owned by Raymond and Sheila Harrison and for Kar Investments LLC and the Randy Roth Irrevocable Trust. The lands were rezoned from RR (rural-residential) to RN (residential neighborhood).
Final plats were accepted from the Apple Crossing Subdivision and the Elliot Subdivision.
A resolution was accepted, approving a comprehensive plan for the city. The plan was prepared for the city with the assistance of the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission and was also approved by Highfill’s planning commission.
Other resolutions were approved establishing a travel policy for city employees; paying a $5,000 stipend to each full-time Highfill police officer from federal grant money received from the state for that purpose, related to their service during the covid-19 pandemic; adopting premium pay for certain city employees from the American Rescue Plan Act related to service during the covid pandemic; setting the 2022 millage rate for the city; and transferring $2,728 from the Highfill Water Revenue Fund to the Fire Equipment Fund.
The premium pay resolution designates that the ARPA grant money is used for the payment of police salaries, freeing up money in the police department budget — $65,000 — to pay for the renovation work at the new police station.
Councilman Justin Allen raised questions about the $5,000 one-time stipends for police officers, asking why that amount was not used as a source for the police salaries. Mayor Rieff explained that this was a one-time grant obtained by the police department to reward full-time police officers for their service during the covid-19 pandemic. If the money is not given to the full-time officers, it must be returned to the state, she said.
The 2022 millage rate remains unchanged at 4.75 mills, but a resolution must be adopted each year for the tax to be collected and disbursed to the city.
In other business, it was reported to the council that volunteers are still needed to assist with inflatables at the Highfill Fall Festival, which will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 15, in the city park.
Gene Holland, Highfill’s fire chief, advised the council that his department was running over budget with a $20,000 shortfall estimated by the end of the year. He said the overage was caused by fuel prices and the police department operating out of the fire department until its new facility is ready. The council is expected to adjust the budget at the close of the year.