At least 27 Mauldin city employees receive a clothing allowance as a perk, but Council member Dale Black suggests the city ought to rethink the practice to make it fairer and more cost effective.
According to a report from The Greenville News, the city spends $15,000 a year on employee clothing allowances, ranging from $100 to $800 per year.
Black said the allowances could be fairer and more cost effective if the city instead simply rented shirts from a service that also could do the laundry. The change would save the city about $9,000 annually.
In cities across the state, a clothing allowance is sometimes part of the compensation package for top department heads, Bill Taylor, a field services manager for the Municipal Association of South Carolina, told the paper.
"Black said he was leaning toward the rental program so that employees could avoid a double shot of taxes. Employees with the clothing allowance pay sales tax at the register and see the allowance taxed like a regular salary because the Internal Revenue Service views it as a benefit," the paper said.
A proposed policy written by City Administrator Trey Eubanks calls for employees to use their allowances to buy clothing that is business attire, includes the city logo, or directly relates to the responsibilities of their position, the paper added.
