Salary increases for Taylorville city department superintendents and other non-bargaining personnel, was the hot topic at Tuesday night's Taylorville City Council meeting. The Council's personnel committee had previously met for over 6 hours on the subject, and the committee recommended varying raises for different department heads, and a bonus for Water Superintendent Dave Speagle.

Alderman Martin Vota told aldermen Tuesday night, he was not in favor of the proposal.

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Alderman Larry Budd, who is chairman of the Council's finance committee, also told Council members he was not in favor of the increases the way they came out of the personnel committee.

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Alderman Shawn Burtle also was vocal about how the raises came out of committee.

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Vota, Burtle, and Budd all voted no, with the salary increases for Taylorville city non-bargaining employees passing 4 to 3.

After the vote, Mayor Greg Brotherton said he had made an error. A couple of the non-bargaining employees asked Brotherton before the meeting began, to let them speak before the vote. Mayor Brotherton said he has forgotten, and allowed them to speak after the vote. Assistant Fire Chief Andy Goodall said the city does not have a performance evaluation process to determine wage hikes.

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Police Detective Brian Hile told Taylorville aldermen Tuesday night that they didn't have a full understanding of all he does every day.

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In the end, Taylorville's non-bargaining employees received between a point-875 percent and one-point-750-percent raise. Water Superintendent David Speagle was the only department head getting a 750-dollar bonus on top of his one-point-750 percent raise.

The Council voted to sell the Fire Department's 2006 Rescue Truck; they OK'd selling a 1998 fire squad vehicle; they voted some 59-hundred 50-dollars to host Illinois Fire Service Institute training at the Taylorville Fire Station; and voted to apply for federal grant money for silt dam dredging.

Taylorville aldermen Tuesday night hiked the Village of Kincaid's water rate they pay Taylorville for water, to 3-dollars 96-cents per one-thousand gallons, which is the maximum allowable rate; they hired an energy broker to negotiate the city's upcoming electric rate contract later this year; accepted an 18-thousand 700-dollar offer for a transmission line easement from Ameren; and voted to send a bill to an out of town property owner who owns property on East Ash Street, telling them they have 30 days to pay a sewer repair bill or be turned over to a collection agency.

The Taylorville City Council approved payment of a loan back to the water fund from the general fund of some 50-thousand dollars, and also instructed city attorney Rocci Romano to negotiate with Ameren on another transmission line easement issue.