City Council Republicans Criticize Mayor’s Vaccination Bonus Plan

[ad_1]

FORT WAYNE, Indiana (WPTA21) – The five Republican members of Fort Wayne City Council have sent a letter to Mayor Tom Henry criticizing his plan to provide cash payments to city employees who demonstrate proof of COVID-19 vaccination.

Henry, a Democrat, announced last week that he intends to implement a $ 200 “welfare incentive” bonus for those who voluntarily confirm they are vaccinated.

Henry also said he was “assessing the possibility of implementing additional measures to ensure that more city employees get vaccinated before the November 1 deadline set today by the city administration.” .

But in a letter provided to ABC21, the five members of the Council affirm that this organization was never consulted.

“No information was provided on the cost or the source of financing of these services”, one can read. “Do you intend to seek Board approval for this benefit, or an allocation of funds? If not, what funds do you intend to reallocate for this purpose?”

Following the September 2 announcement, Henry told ABC21 that the money would come from a “welfare fund… This is really money that we had set aside for them. that it’s their money, and we should share it with them. “

The letter suggests that the move sets a “contentious tone” to upcoming budget discussions and argues that state law “explicitly prohibits local governments from mandating vaccines” – though Henry has not said the vaccination would be a job retention requirement.

The letter is signed by Jason Arp, Tom Didier, Paul Ensley, Tom Freistroffer and Russ Jehl.

Four Democrats in the council did not sign the document.

Mayor-Henry-Regarding-Vaccine-Bonus PDF Embedder requires url attribute

[ad_2]