The City of Indianola had a rough start to the new year when it came to payroll and deductions.
It was reported two weeks ago that some city employees were paid too much, some too little, and some did not have accurate deductions upon receiving their first checks of 2024.
Ward 5 Alderman Sam Brock Sr. told the board this past Monday night that he is still receiving complaints about these issues.
“Everybody is complaining about payroll issues, so you can’t sit here and say there’s no problem,” Brock said. “There is a problem.”
Mayor Ken Featherstone assured the city lawmakers that the issues were isolated to the first pay period, mostly due to transitions in the payroll clerk position and the payroll software system.
Nevertheless, some department heads said Monday there are still issues with the system.
Indianola Fire Chief Orlando Battle addressed the board and said his check in particular had the improper number of vacation or sick leave hours accrued, among other issues.
“Retirement didn’t come out, so who’s going to pay that?” Battle asked. “Social security’s not right, FICA’s not right, federal withholding is not right.”
The last two check stubs he said he has received were inaccurate.
“They are very inaccurate,” he said.
The city is currently advertising for a new payroll/HR clerk after the retirement of Cheryl Thomas at the end of 2023.
The city is currently contracting payroll until the position is filled.
Ward 2 Alderman Darrell Simpson vouched for the new payroll software, ADP, saying that he has used it before in the private sector and that once learned has advantages other systems do not.
For instance, he said employees can check their paystubs ahead of the check being cut or direct deposited. In that scenario, if there are any errors, they can be corrected before the employees are paid, he said.
