To pay or not to pay?

The question of premium pay when assistant managers fill in for absent managers will come before the Ketchikan City Council on Thursday.

According to a memo from City Manager Karl Amylon, a recommended resolution on the agenda will more narrowly define what circumstances qualify for premium pay, which is 8 percent above the existing pay rate.

Last summer, Amylon had sent a memo to all department heads noting that premium pay would not apply when a department head is absent for two weeks or less. However, the assistant fire chief later filed a grievance, noting that under existing personnel rules, premium pay applies to any amount of time spent filling in for a higher-graded position.

The new resolution would specify that employees whose job descriptions state that they will fill in when the department head is absent will not receive premium pay unless the absence exceeds two weeks.

Also Thursday, the Council will consider a liquor license renewal for First City Saloon. According to a memo from City Clerk Katy Suiter, the business is delinquent on its property taxes. Suiter placed three alternative motions on the agenda for the Council to consider. One approves the liquor license renewal; a second approves it contingent upon payment of the property taxes; and the third protests the renewal and directs the clerk to schedule a public hearing on the issue.

The Council also has two executive sessions scheduled, both dealing with potential litigation. The first is related to the demolition of the Bawden Street Apartments building, and the second is about a dispute with the hospital construction manager over the appropriate method to pay a subcontractor.

Thursday’s meeting starts at 7 p.m. in City Council chambers. Public comment will be heard at the start of the meeting.