CAPE ELIZABETH — The Cape Elizabeth Town Council voted 4-3 against providing a 5 percent hazard pay bonus for municipal essential service employees in Cape Elizabeth on April 13.
First responders, like police officers and EMS staff, and essential municipal workers, like those in public works, were proposed to receive the compensation for the next eight weeks through the town’s overtime budget, said Council Chair Valerie Adams.
The councilors also discussed what the town will need to do with non-essential municipal and school employees at the end of April if Gov. Janet Millls extends the stay-at-home order further into the spring and/or summer.
Councilor Jamie Garvin asked Town Manager Matt Sturgis, “At what point do you think we’ll need to have a conversation, whether on municipal or school side, if they’ll need to be furloughed or put on hold. If we have people who, try as they might, aren’t able to perform the function of their job remotely, I’m just curious at what point does the town have to make a decision going forward?”
A decision will need to be made at the end of April, Sturgis said.
“There’s a heck of a lot of weight over the next two and a half weeks, quite frankly,” he said. “As we all see on a daily basis, this changes and we’re not getting the same message on different level of governments.”
No individual first responding employee has reached out to Sturgis with concerns about safety, he said.
“We’ve had a couple of different discussions with department heads, but no specific employees have come forward,” said Sturgis. “We’ve had others who have been out because they’re worried about their safety. We work on a case-by-case basis as well. ”
Councilor Christopher Straw, one of the “no” votes, said that while he appreciates first responders who have been exposed to COVID-19 each day, the town is in a bad place financially.
“There’s a lot of people in town, myself included — my business has been wiped out,” he said. “I have no income coming in. My business basically evaporated because of this. I’m not alone.”
Councilors Penny Jordan, Caitlin Jordan and Jamie Garvin also voted against the proposal.
Penny Jordan said that her vote wasn’t an easy decision to make and she respects employees risking their own health to go into work.
Although the vote failed, Sturgis said that having a conversation was important.
“The fact that the council had the conversation is a good message,” he said. “It may not have prevailed as a vote, but the fact that you considered that in very uncertain times, you’re making the best decision you can based on the info that you have, that we all get on a daily basis. The fact that the council had a thoughtful discussion on that, I would take it as a positive.”
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