By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
With a new year on the horizon, and a minted 2016 municipal budget in place, Whitewater officials have adopted a 2016 salary schedule for all municipal employees.
The Common Council on Dec. 1 gave a stamp of approval to a resolution that sets the stage for compensation rates, starting with a yearly salary of $93,636 for City Manager Cameron Clapper and $91,420 for Police Chief Lisa Otterbacher.
Other administrative-level positions include an annual wage of $55,200 for City Attorney Wally McDonell and $20,571 for Municipal Judge Richard Kelly.
The resolution also outlines salaries for the nine so-called salary schedules that are divided by different departments and employment classifications.
Staffers within the fire and rescue department, for example, are privy to hourly wage compensation between $19 and $12. Aside from Otterbacher, sworn personnel within the police department will receive yearly salaries ranging from $82,656 and $51,445.
In other recent business, the council:
- Appointed resident Alan Luckett to the Birge Fountain Committee. Luckett, who has lived in Whitewater for 20 years, operates the local community television organization. He also serves on the city’s Landmarks Commission.
- Approved a request by the organizers of Downtown Whitewater Inc. to close portions of Main Street for a festival from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 10.
Deborah Blackwell, owner of Studio 84, noted the early request but said it was submitted at this point to assist in planning for 2016 programs and events in the downtown commercial corridor.
- Adopted a resolution discontinuing the recognition of a municipal street: East Main Court. Abandonment of the municipal roadway is closely linked to the recent announcement that DP Electronics was relocating its global headquarters from Elkhorn to Whitewater.
