City Council Directs Staff to Bring Salary Schedule 10% Less than Recommended
The Grants Pass City Council directed City Staff to bring a salary schedule 10% less than the Taskforce Recommendation to consider at a later date. The council was presented with updated approaches to adjusting the Non-bargaining Employee's compensation and classification based on market analysis and Oregon Pay Equity law. The funding for these adjustments is in the budget. These aren't merit increases, it's a question of if these positions are paid competitively and whether employee placement is consistent with their experience. The goal was to find the most cost-effective salary schedule adjustment and implementation that allows for recruitment and retention of qualified employees and ensures compliance with legal requirements. Four options were presented to the council. The first was recommended by the Taskforce starting with a 2.71% COLA with phased implementation over the five fiscal years. The second would be Full Implementation starting with the same COLA, then 3% over subsequent fiscal years.
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OSP Responded to Fatal Three-Vehicle Crash over the Weekend
Oregon State Police responded Saturday to a fatal three-vehicle crash at the intersection of Kirtland Road and High Banks Road, in Jackson County. The initial investigation indicated a Cadillac Escalade, operated by Michael Bryan Dickerson, 74, of Grants Pass, was heading northbound on High Pass Rd. and entered Kirtland Road where it was struck by a Ford Escape, operated by a female juvenile of Central Point. About five minutes after the crash, an eastbound Harley Davidson motorcycle, operated by Jeremy Bruno Fantechi, 27, of Grants Pass, struck the Cadillac at a reported high rate of speed. Fantechi was declared deceased at the scene. Dickerson and the female juvenile were reportedly uninjured.
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BottleDrop Community Raises $75,000 for Oregon Food Assistance Organizations
The Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative (OBRC), operator of the BottleDrop network, announced that it distributed $75,000 to support 12 Oregon based food assistance nonprofits during the 2025 holiday season. Local organizations impacted by the donation included the Josephine County Food Bank and Rogue Food Unites. OBRC kicked off the fundraising campaign October 30th with a $30,000 donation from its Emergency Fund and encouraged BottleDrop customers to donate their beverage container refund values to support the effort. In total, $21,360 were donated by customers, and OBRC's Emergency Fund matched all donations made through January 1st, plus contributed additional funds to round out the total amount. Each organization received $6,250 from the fundraising event.
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