
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, February 5, 1991                   TAG: 9102050417
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER MUNICIPAL WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

ROANOKE SEEKS TO PAY CITY WORKERS IN GULF

Councilman James Harvey wants Roanoke to pay the salaries of municipal workers on active military duty because of the Persian Gulf war, but the city might have to get the General Assembly's approval to do that.

Six city workers in the military reserves have been called to duty, City Manager Robert Herbert said Monday. The six include three police officers, one employee in the Sheriff's Department, one emergency rescue worker and one mechanical/plumbing inspector.

The city should keep paying their salaries while they are on active duty if that is legal, Harvey said. If it isn't, the city should make up the difference between their military pay and salaries, he said.

If a change in state law is required, Harvey said he hopes the General Assembly will approve it on an emergency basis.

State law authorizes localities to grant up to three weeks of paid leave to employees for military training. A bill has been introduced in the current session of the legislature to permit the same amount of paid leave for active military duty as well as for training, but Herbert said it is unclear whether localities could approve more than three weeks.

City Attorney Wilburn Dibling will determine whether special legislation is needed and whether it could be approved during the current session, Herbert said.

by CNB