Cuba Mayor Pitts Lesesne made the tie-breaking vote June 23 against hiring Ben Weber, the only applicant, as the new K9 officer.

During discussion, Ward 2 Alderman Russell Crocker said that he didn’t want to set a precedent of negotiating a starting salary.

“I have an issue with the $52,000. The reason why I say that is because it sets a precedent that we can’t afford to set. If he were coming in at base pay, I wouldn’t have an issue,” Crocker said.

He believes it is unfair to pay Weber that much, since the city already cannot afford to give raises to any other city employees this year. Ward 3 Alderman Jeff Bouse said that he would be bringing eight years of experience as a cop.

A final vote was split between the aldermen, with Ward 1 Aldermen Ray Mortimeyer and Louis Raineri and Ward 2 Aldermen Jeremy Rosemann voting against hiring Weber as a K9 officer.

Lesesne asked Comptroller Jennifer Basham for her opinion, and she said that the city can’t afford to hire him at $52,000, while Police Chief Doug Shelton said that Weber won’t do it for $40,000. In the end, Lesesne voted against hiring Weber.

A motion to hire Weber as a K9 officer was denied with a 3-4 vote.

Since the approximately two-year-old drug dog is not bonded to Cuba by the grant that brought it to the city, the aldermen will decide what to do with it at the July 7 meeting.

In other business, Shelton recommended Timothy Isom for the animal control officer position. A motion to hire Isom for the position was approved with a 6-0 vote.