City Council members are scheduled to vote Tuesday on the city’s 2010 budget, and one of the biggest issues concerns the proposed 1 1/2 percent increase for city employees.

While members opposed to the increase have sound reasons, the council should approve the increase for three reasons:

•Members already approved a 1 1/2 percent raise for firefighters. To treat other city employees differently is grossly unfair.

•Employees received no raise for 2009, and a 2011 raise will be problematic. This could be the only raise employees get for quite a while.

•The city has enough money to grant the increase without cutting other services.

Opponents of the raise rightly point out that many constituents are receiving no raises – or worse. But council members should have known that when they approved the firefighter raise in August.

At that time, only Councilwoman Liz Brown raised the issue.

High school redesign

The Fort Wayne Community Schools board continues its discussion of the district’s progress on redesigning high school programs during a meeting today.

Debra Faye Williams-Robbins, the district’s area administrator for high schools, began the report at the board’s meeting two weeks ago but did not have time to finish it because of questions raised by board members. Discussion of the plan is vital, but board members have a responsibility to gather more information outside the board meetings.

The district is under intense pressure from the Indiana Department of Education to raise achievement at North Side and South Side high schools, in particular.

Delaying progress on efforts to strengthen the high school curriculum and to develop a specialized study program at each high school sends a message to teachers and parents that the initiative isn’t a priority.

Informed voters

The Fort Wayne Area League of Women Voters correctly thinks that an informed voter is a more effective voter.

To that end, the organization is holding a free and public event “How to Become a Competent Voter” on Monday. Andy Downs, a member of the Allen County Election Board and director of the Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics, will speak at the event. Downs, who teaches political science at IPFW, will share resources to help residents learn more about issues important to all voters.

The recently revived local chapter of the league welcomes men and women to its events.

Housing meeting

The city’s Office of Housing and Neighborhood Services wants to hear opinions from residents about how the city should be using federal housing dollars on Tuesday. The goal is to set priorities for money going toward helping the homeless, ensuring affordable housing for people with special needs and other community development projects.

The information gathered at the meeting will be used to create a five-year Housing and Community Development Plan. And it’s an opportunity to have a say in how the city spends limited federal housing dollars.

Residents unable to attend the meeting should complete the online survey on the city Web site at www.cityoffortwayne.org.

Leaf pickup

Leaf pickup begins today for residents in the central section of the city. This is the second year the city will only have two scheduled pickups for each of the three sections of the city.

The change was made last year as a cost saving measure. But many residents complained when leaves remained for too long on park strips destroying grass.

The city can’t control the weather. When winter weather arrives, city street crews have to quickly shift their attention to snow removal, often forcing them to neglect the leaves. Residents’ best option is to get as many leaves at the curb for the first pickup as possible.

The city will pick up leaves in the south section the week of Nov. 2 and in the north the week of Nov. 9. The second round starts Nov. 16.

Clinton Street bridge

The Indiana Department of Transportation will hold a public hearing Tuesday to accept comments on the proposed replacement of the Martin Luther King Memorial Bridge on Clinton Street. It will include a presentation of the project plans, including the schedule and cost.

The state has jurisdiction over the project because Clinton is the U.S. 27 route through Fort Wayne.

City officials had hoped to increase the city’s contribution to the federal, state and locally funded project to make the bridge more aesthetically pleasing than the concrete slab structure it will replace, but it had to scale back because of looming deficits.