Lisbon voted 4-1 to approve employee bonuses related to the amount they saved the city by completing projects in-house, with Rick Scott providing the dissenting opinion. Scott voiced concern for how taxpayer dollars were being spent, stating excess funds should be applied to bigger projects in the next fiscal year instead of “giving taxpayer money away like that.”
In 2025, non-contracted employees such as public works director Travis Bagby, public works staff, Christina Eicher, and others all had a role in completing numerous projects for the City of Lisbon. These projects included work that was done in-house that saved the city a total of $355,000. For example, the Kraiburg Boulevard extension saved $70,000; in-house work on the sports complex saved $50,000.
Previously, Brandon Siggins had been told “that if there was ever good works and we thought that it was relevant for that to bring it forward.” Thus, as an act of recognition for saving the city $355,000, Siggins proposed to the council that 3.6% of that money saved be returned to the employees that did all the work that allowed such a substantial amount of savings through one-time bonus checks.
In total, the amount from the overall savings that would be returned to and split among the employees would be $13,500 for the work that they completed between March 1 and Aug. 31. Each check would be different per employee, as each person involved played a different role, some bigger than others. However, this would not be an annual performance review-based bonus; rather, the bonus would simply be a thank you to the employees.
Other members, like councilman John Bardsley, felt strongly for giving the bonuses, stating, “I think any time we can give less than 4% back to the employees and they can save us that kind of money, I’ll do it year after year. I think it’s wonderful. It gives them some incentive and a feeling that they’ve been thanked.”
Public works director Travis Bagby expressed that the workers went above and beyond what they were hired to do, explaining that “what we’ve done with these projects were above and beyond what we normally say is our scope.”
Budget discussions continue for Lisbon
Budget discussions continued for the City of Lisbon, leading off with Mount Vernon-Lisbon Community Development Group (CDG) director Jessie Thurn.
Thurn started off by listing some of the CDG’s 2025 accomplishments, including being part of three ribbon-cutting ceremonies, hosting an engage and grow event at Tin Roof in Lisbon, investing into a digital marketing specialist, Christina Millikan, who surpassed her growth expectations, and more.
Going into 2026, depending on Lisbon’s feelings towards the subject, the CDG has asked for around a $20,000 budget request for Lisbon to join Main Street Iowa; however, if Lisbon is not interested in pursuing this now, then the budget request is for $2,000.
Fire chief Brandon Siggins requested $72,600 for the fire budget, which was nearly a $13,000 decrease from the 2025 budget request. This decrease has come from the fact that the local EMS has decided to help out with supplies at the Mount Vernon and Lisbon fire departments.
Jake Lindauer, the director of the Lisbon-Mount Vernon Ambulance service, stepped in to help explain the process by which things will be done. With EMS using supplies more frequently than the fire departments, they have decided that to keep supplies from expiring or sitting too long on a shelf, they will rotate the items by using what the fire stations have and restocking them as needed. This provides a solution to overstocking and understocking in one station or another, as well as preventing the expiration of supplies within the stations.
Mount Vernon-Lisbon Police chief Jason Blinks, as a result of low staffing and recent changes within the department, explained that the department would not be asking for any kind of increase in their budget. Instead, they will revisit the issue next year once the department is in a steadier position.
Public works decided to go the same route, asking for nothing new to the budget for roads, water, or sewers. With money remaining from previous projects, public works will be doing some in-house patching on Washington Street and some other road projects around town. Such projects include a $10,000 repair of a water main break on Monroe and Third from two years ago, and any unexpected projects that come up throughout the year.
Lisbon approves next steps for EMS district
Post-budget presentations included the discussion of taking the final step of establishing an official EMS district, to which all members of the council voted for. The cost to the city would be $7,500, and there will need to be more steps taken to make this happen.
Wages for Lisbon union employees discussed
Brandon Siggins brought up the issue of making changes to the non-contract employee wage scale. According to Siggins, “the union informed staff a few years back that they did not want to continue on with the city of Lisbon.” Thus, a pay scale was proposed since the one with the union became null and void.
This new pay scale would set so employees would be eligible for a pay raise after every five years of performance and five satisfactory evaluations. At five years, the increase would be $1.50 per hour, $1.75 at 10 years, and a $2 increase after 15 years and every five after that.
The council also addressed unfinished business, discussing Breanna Ties’s starting wage. The council agreed to keep her at what she was hired at and bring her in after her six-month evaluation to consider a pay raise at that point.
Lisbon department reports
Finally, it was time for reports, at which point each department was able to share their highlights from the previous couple of weeks. For example, public works was able to complete work on Grand Avenue and North Washington, while the ambulance service was able to report 917 responses, and the fire department recognized milestones for their volunteers.