BUCYRUS — Bucyrus City Council met Thursday evening on the Go To Meeting website for council to consider changes to the current supervisor and employee manpower legislation and the city’s billet.

A letter from Council President Kurt Fankhauser was read by council clerk Todd Hill and proposes that an ad hoc committee be formed to consider an emergency plan for the city’s safety forces after a request by the mayor’s office to add 20 part-time employees to both the fire and police departments was withdrawn Tuesday.

Fankhauser’s response was to a letter sent by Mayor Jeff Reser on Wednesday asking for council to create an emergency plan instead.

Council made several changes to the manpower legislation for supervisors and employees, which included considering several changes suggested by Bucyrus resident Vicki Dishon.

Dishon suggested eliminating the supervisor billet altogether, since the only positions in the manpower are the city service-safety director and a part-time position for a city engineer.

“The other positions have not been filled in several years,” Dishon said.

She said one less publication in the local newspaper will save taxpayer dollars since the changes have to be printed publicly.

Council member Mark Makeever suggested council leave the two manpower ordinances separate for now, but it be something to revisit in the future.

Makeever also went to bat for council to approve the proposed raises for non-union employees which he said amounts to a total of $7,528.81.

“We can still look at all of us taking a pay cut at a later time if the virus amps up again later this year,” Makeever said.

Manpower pay raises were kept to a first reading after council members James Mee and Lisa Alsept voted no to waiving the second and third readings and the supervisor manpower legislation was also kept to a first reading for a lack of even a motion to consider waiving the second and third readings.

The changes, mostly wording or the elimination of positions that the city has not filled for several years, to the billet were passed during the meeting.

The pay raise legislation will be on the agenda for second readings at the next online meeting April 21 at 7 p.m.