Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
A divided city council voted in favor of a 7-percent pay raise for city employees as part of the proposed new city budget.
Council members and city administrators focused on the proposed pay increase during a special city council budget workshop on Saturday afternoon at City Hall.
City Manager John Sheedy opened the workshop by saying that many of the city’s hourly workers would be receiving actual pay increases far above the 7 percent across-the-board cost of living adjustment in the city’s proposed Fiscal Year 2023-2024 budget.
City Finance Director Alberta Barrett explained further. She directed council members’ attention to several handouts she had provided before the meeting.
The first dealt with pay for non-exempt, non-civil service, hourly city employees and included full-time, part-time and seasonal employees. Each city position falling into those categories was listed, from aerobics instructor and clerk I to combination inspector and safety coordinator.
The handout showed the current salary for each position, including the starting pay for the position and the current cost of that position to the city budget.
Barrett then showed the market adjustment made for some positions, noting those adjustments were “from a salary survey we did of about 11 cities and the school district to see where some of our positions fell in relation.”
The next column on the sheet showed the effect of the proposed 7 percent cost of living adjustment on the salaries, then breakouts of the cost of fringe benefits for each position and finally, a “true total hourly rate,” which Barrett explained as the actual money paid each employee plus the value of the benefits package.
Barrett zeroed in on the position of light equipment operator, of which the city employs 16 full-time.
“They’re currently making $12.06 an hour. The market adjustment to make them competitive, and again, I have to thank the council, because we started this about two to three years ago. In 2021, we gave a huge market adjustment to these positions. This is to follow through with that. So with the market adjustment, the light equipment operators would go from $12.06 an hour to $14.39 an hour, a $2.33 increase or about 19 percent.
“The 7 percent COLA (cost of living adjustment) would raise them from the $14.39 to $15.40 an hour. Further across, you can see with their benefits, that equals all to a $23.06 hourly rate, when you take into account all the benefits the city is paying those employees,” Barrett said.
She also walked the council through the pay structure and raises for heavy equipment operators.
Councilwoman Alexandra Falcon Calderon asked if the city pays for employees’ health insurance coverage.
Barrett said the city pays 100 percent of employees’ health, dental and life insurance premiums, as well as providing 15 paid holidays and 10 paid vacation days and retirement.
When Calderon asked about a merit system, Barrett replied that merit did not have anything to do with the pay breakdowns she was presenting to the council.
Mayor Al Arreola asked about pay for the city custodians.
Barrett directed him to another line on the handout, noting the city has nine full-time and nine part-time custodians.
“Right now, they’re making $11.60 an hour. They would be moved up to $12.78 for a 10 percent increase (in the market adjustment),” Barrett said.
The 7 percent proposed cost of living adjustment would bring the hourly rate for custodians to $13.67, for a total hourly rate of $16.01, a figure that includes the entire benefits package.
Barrett also reviewed the total cost to the city of the proposed market adjustments and the cost of living adjustments.
“The (total cost of the) market adjustments to the city is $991,918. That’s about a 12 percent (increase), if you were to average that (per position). The 7 percent COLA is $766,338, for a total of $1,758,257,” Barrett told the council, noting those increases will benefit 373 of the city’s employees.
Of that total, she said, 301 would see a market adjustment to their pay as a result of the proposal.
Sheedy added, “Most of these employees received significant increases.”
Calderon asked if the market adjustment was done annually to city salaries.
“At least annually,” Barrett replied, noting the only way city salaries would stay competitive is to make market adjustments to salaries on an ongoing basis.
“The way we came up with the 7 percent (COLA) was, the school district was giving 6 percent across-the-board, so we gave 7 because we were increasing the retirement benefit, which net to a 6 percent increase (to salaries),” Barrett said.
Barrett also reviewed the total cost to the city of the proposed 7 percent COLA for the city’s exempt employees, who are typically salaried.
She noted the salaries for four city employees – the city manager, city attorney, city secretary and municipal judge – are set by the council.
“The total for 7 percent (for exempt employees) is $382,698.96. With the hourly at $1,758,257, that’s a $2.1 million increase in salaries (overall),” Barrett said.
“Why did we come up with that? One, the school district was giving 6 percent. The 7 percent plus 1 percent employees will have in their retirement would equal to a net of 6 percent. And that was using about $380,000 of our fund balance.
“The goal when we’re preparing a budget is to present to the council a balanced budget, so as close to zero using the fund balance as little as possible. I was comfortable (using) the $380,000 (from the fund balance). We did lower the tax rate by a penny, so that puts us to using about $570,000 of the fund balance,” Barrett said.
She added the city could do a 10 percent raise for non-exempt employees and a 4 percent COLA increase for exempt employees, as had been proposed by Arreola, “but you’re going to use a lot more of your fund balance.”
Barrett went over a detailed review of the effects of a 10 percent COLA for non-exempt employees and a 4 percent COLA for exempt employees.
After Barrett finished her presentation, Arreola said he favored going with the higher increase for non-exempt employees, adding the city “could tighten our belts next year,” if necessary.
The mayor said he believed a higher increase would “send a good message to all our citizens out there that the city is trying to put people to work.”
Barrett reminded the council that next year the council would have to consider pay increases for its police officers and firefighters.
Mayor Pro-tem Steve Webb noted when the city conducted a reclassification of its employee position several years ago, “there were a lot of increases across-the-board.”
Councilman J.P. Sanchez said he has “never heard of any (city) going up to 10 percent.”
“The administration has made an adjustment that is very equal, it’s across-the-board, and they’re able to work with that. We’re trying to change that, and we’ll be throwing a wrench into the machine,” Sanchez added.
After additional discussion, Arreola said he wanted to hear from Councilman Jim DeReus, who had not yet spoken.
“As far as the COLA, everyone gets the same thing. I mentioned at the last meeting that in more than 30 years working for the (federal) government, I have never had a 7 percent COLA. I think that’s generous, personally,” DeReus said.
“We need to go with 7 (percent),” the councilman added.
He also said he believes the four employees who report directly to the city council – the city manager, city attorney, city secretary and the municipal court judge – should also receive the 7 percent cost of living adjustment.
A short time later, DeReus made a motion that the council accept the staff recommendation for a 7 percent cost of living adjustment across-the-board, to include the four positions that answer to the council.
Webb gave the second.
The motion was approved, with DeReus, Webb, Sanchez and Councilwoman Ernestina “Tina” Martinez voting in favor, Arreola opposed and Calderon and Councilman Jesus Lopez abstaining.
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