But that would not be the case if the draft is reinstated and the employee is called up to serve as a full-time soldier, or if the employee joins the regular military.
The Pinehurst Village Council asked Thursday during a work session that the military pay policy be revised. The council discussed the verbiage of the policy with Human Resources Personnel Director Karen Habenstein.
Mayor Steven Smith and several others wanted to make sure no one employee asks for leave from his or her job with the village to volunteer for active military duty to get two paychecks.
Habenstein said her original proposed policy was identical to that adopted in other cities and towns in North Carolina, because of the call-ups occurring among National Guard reservists and extended tours of duty many are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
All military service in America is voluntary, including the regular U.S. Army and National Guard.
In the end, the council decided to reword the policy to make sure no one who works for the village who decides to volunteer for regular military service can get the differential or benefits from his old job.
“That would be a career change,” Habenstein said later. “We will allow the benefits and compensation to continue to people who have volunteered or registered for the National Guard duty who are called up for the time they serve.”
So far, one firefighter, John Warren, was deployed on active duty in Iraq for many months, as a National Guard reservist. He has come back to work for the village.
Pinehurst Police Officer Jessie Stubbs has been deployed to Iraq as a National Guard reservist now for “four to six weeks,” she said.
“There is no way we can hire a temporary police officer, so we will fill his position during the time he is required to be on active duty,” he said.
That could last up to two years, according to the National Guard policies. Many National Guardsmen have been kept in Iraq for much longer than their initial expected term of duty and returned there without having a choice. The law requires their previous civilian jobs to be kept open for them, or an equivalent job.
Stubbs will get his old position back with Pinehurst, or a similar one according to the law, but another person must be hired to replace him as a regular full-time officer, she said.
One exception to getting the differential between their regular pay with the village and the amount paid to them by the National Guard is that no Social Security, state or federal income tax deductions will be made from their village pay, according to Habenstein. That’s a directive she said she received Tuesday.
Life insurance coverage and other medical coverage is to be continued for the benefit of families. While the person serving on active duty won’t get life insurance benefits if he is killed in combat, Habenstein said she expects the insurance company to allow coverage if he is killed in an accident or dies by other causes outside a battle zone.
Habenstein said there could be up to 30 of the village’s 110 employees who are of military age.
The pay the reservists might lose from civilian jobs while serving overseas will be replaced under the current military pay policy.
“They have to prove they’ve been deployed through National Guard call-ups,” Habenstein explained during questioning by Smith and Mayor Pro Tem George Hillier. “We ask for a copy of the order…would we not want to save that person’s job?”
“We don’t want to pay a differential, let’s say, if somebody is cutting the grass for us and he comes and says he wants to enlist,” Smith said.
But Hillier said, “If we have a grass-cutter who is already in the military (reserve) and is called back to active duty,” he’d favor the pay differential.
In other business, the council approved a policy governing village help with private storm drainage problems.
“This is to clarify that the village is somewhat affirmatively saying citizens cannot by right expect all problems on private property to be fixed by the village,” Smith said.
He said that “only at the village’s sole election” would the local government participate in constructing or repairing infrastructure to remedy drainage and stormwater management plans involving private property.
“We inherited a lot of problems (from Diamondhead Corp., that sold lots but did not install a stormwater management system),” he said.
The prohibitive cost of the government undertaking a stormwater drainage system project has been part of the reason the policy was adopted. The policy allows the village to be selective, particularly favoring projects that would impact a public village roadway or other public property before participating with the property owner.
“In the budgeting process, I expected we’d request a certain amount of money to be set aside for some limited projects,” Village Manager Andy Wilkison said.
The policy does specify new developments of all kinds must have adequate storm drainage facilities in line with the village’s subdivision, zoning and engineering standards.
For small projects, costs estimated at $10,000 or less can be considered for existing residential developments on a case-by-case basis.
The council also reappointed William Thurman to a two-year term on the advisory Planning and Zoning Board, to October 2006. His term expired in July 2004.
