City Council passed its 2014 budget Dec. 17, but not without internal and external contention regarding employee pay levels.

Resident Dana Grubb said he was angered that some employees, especially managers, would receive raises incommensurate with their duties. He said some of them are going to get as much as the city's Emergency Medical Services director, whose responsibilities and challenges – implying saving lives – are weighty and broad..

Grubb claimed some employees have been recipients of special treatment, while other offices might suffer pay cuts.

Later, Councilmember Karen Dolan said Grubb's comments should have been halted as an accusation of corruption.

Grubb corrected his earlier wording to "favoritism."

But Grubb wasn't alone in his displeasure. City Controller Robert Pfenning spoke up as a citizen, saying council has been curtailing his ability to operate his own office, which is independent. He said despite doing all the legwork to engage a raise for a valued employee, the actual vote to finalize that raise has never appeared on council's agenda, breaking an agreement.

"Far as I'm concerned, council interfered with the independence of my office," and disrespected his authority he said, visibly angered. He threatened legal action.

Councilmember David DiGiacinto next month will step down and assume the controller position.

Council members dropped a number of employee-pay-related proposed amendments in favor of passing the budget. They generally agreed the issues should be discussed with the new administration with new council members.

Dolan said she didn't want to wait, saying council shouldn't be sitting on its hands until next year, but Make Recchiuti and J. William Reynolds disagreed. Recchiuti said he feels nominees, appointments and salaries should be discussed with the leadership under which they will be implemented. Reynolds agreed but said not supporting changes now wouldn't mean he wouldn't support them in January.

Reynolds also asked councilmember and Mayor-elect Bob Donchez why he supported increasing the pay for the incoming water and sewer resources director when only days earlier he'd been against it. Donchez said he'd been reconsidering, but the amendment was supported only by Dolan and died there.

Dave Brong is leaving the office of water and sewer resources after years of service to the city, and the incoming director is engineer Edward Boscola, husband of State Sen. Lisa Boscola.

The next meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Jan. 6 at City Hall.