Jon Johnson Photo/Gila Herald: The town of Pima will pay its employees back hazard COVID pay.
Employees to receive roughly $4,000 to $5,500 in back “premium pay”
By Jon Johnson
PIMA – The town of Pima will pay 11 of its employees bonus hazard premium pay for work performed during the pandemic.
The money will come from a portion of the funds Pima has received through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). According to Pima Town Manager Vernon Batty, the Pima Town Council approved the premium pay at its Tuesday night meeting. The funds can only be spent in certain areas, including hazard pay for employees. Graham County previously did the same thing with its employees last month.
Employees who worked for the town between March 23, 2020, and June 30, 2021, and were in contact with other people or items that were in contact with other people will be awarded an extra $2 per hour in back hazard pay. Batty said the employee who worked the most hours during that time performed 2,752 hours of work, for an increase of $5,504, and the employee who worked the least hours during that time performed 2,127 hours of work for an award of $4,254. The total payout to the employees will be about $54,000, according to Batty.
In other town news:
- The Pima Town Council accepted the resignation of Dennis Lines, who is retiring after 33 years of service to the town. Batty said Lines will still be around to help out a bit but will no longer be in a supervisory position.
- Pima Police Chief Diane Cauthen briefed the council on her desire to hire an officer for a lateral position – which means hiring an experienced officer instead of sending one to the police academy. The department has been short since an officer became a school resource officer primarily, and another officer is believed to be leaving in January.
