Great Bend City Councilman Gary Parr on Monday renewed his request that the City spend funds it hasn’t used to provide employees a one-time Christmas bonus this year. The money would come from funds budgeted for an assistant city administration – a position that remains unfilled.

Parr’s proposal was not on the agenda but was brought up in the portion of the meeting set aside for councilmember reports. It was the third time he mentioned the idea, most recently at the Nov. 3 meeting. At that meeting, fellow councilmembers suggested he talk to administrators and come back with a proposal that could be placed on the agenda and reviewed before the meeting.

He said he had intended to do that but ended up spending a week in the hospital this month. However, he presented some options and renewed the discussion. There were comments from the mayor and council, as well as comments from audience member Brad Shirer. No motion was made, so there was no action taken. It was noted that the council still has time to act before Christmas if it chooses.

Parr’s suggestion

Earlier in the meeting, Great Bend Police Officer Paul Millard, a School Resource Officer for Great Bend USD 428, was recognized for his bravery during a shooting this summer at a Wichita mall. 

“Officer Millard is a perfect example of why I wanted to do this all along,” Parr said. “Option One-A would be (for) all law enforcement, EMS and fire – approximately 60 persons – to receive a one-time Christmas bonus for 2025, for a total of $30,000.” He added that would leave approximately $105,000 of the money set aside for the unfilled administrative position.

“These are people who, on a daily basis, run toward diversity, controversy and danger every single day of their lives for the citizens of Great Bend, and I think one time, we ought to say, ‘Thanks a lot for doing what you do.’ Not to leave our city employees out, Option One-B: all city workers ... would receive a one-time Christmas bonus for 2025 only, and this would be stated in writing, crystal clear to them, which would total about $10,000 (more), which would leave $95,000.”

Parr said there are approximately 160 City employees, of which 60 are in law enforcement, firefighters or Emergency Medical Services.

“So the bottom line is there’s more than enough money left for that position that could be used for this, and there would still be plenty left.”

He then presented his Option Two. “I took what (councilman) Alan Moeder said to heart at the last meeting: If we’re going to do this, why don’t we just do it for all of them? Okay, I’m down with that too. All law enforcement, fire department, city workers, approximately 160 people, would receive a one-time Christmas gift of $500, which would total $80,000. ... I think it would raise morale.”

Council response

Mayor Cody Schmidt asked if anyone wanted to make a motion.

Councilman Kevyn Soupiset said he would not do that. “As I stated last meeting, I’m not necessarily opposed to this, but I’d like to study it deeper and digest it deeper, and I’m not prepared to say yes or no on it in 10 minutes' notice. I appreciate your thinking outside the box here. This may be a worthy cause that does go through.”

Councilwoman Jolene Biggs said to Parr, “I would suggest that maybe you go back and you look at the budget a little bit, and you talk with the departments and the needs that need to be met. I’m a little dismayed that now you’ve put us in a position where all these employees could possibly get a bonus. ... Are we all going to look like bad guys because we want it to be used for something else?”

Parr said the year is almost over, then Schmidt reminded him that the fiscal year runs through June and another project might come along. “What you put together, for me, is a great idea,” he told Parr. “I don’t see anything wrong with it.”

If this does ever come to a vote, Schmidt said he favors bonuses for all employees, rather than some.

“I believe our whole city is important. If we’re giving bonuses, everybody should get the same bonus across the board,” he said.

Audience input

Brad Shirer, a former Chief Financial Officer for a large CPA firm, asked to speak from the audience and was recognized by Schmidt.

“I have the utmost respect for these people,” he said. “Our fire and police departments do an outstanding job, but governments seem to think that if they budget something, they have to spend the money. It’s not sitting there in a bank account. It’s a budget item. It’s something that would have been spent over a 12-month period; now you’re going to take it all out of the treasury and spend it all on bonuses.”

He added that employees will expect a $500 bonus every year going forward. “I don’t care if you have them sign a piece of paper in blood; it’s going to be an expectation,” he said.

“The third thing that I want to mention is, from a payroll standpoint, if you issue a $500 bonus, are you going to gross that up for payroll taxes? ... I, as a taxpayer, I’m very frustrated to think that because you’ve budgeted something, you have to feel that you have to spend it. That’s not what a budget is all about.”