Employee Connection

I can hardly believe that today marks the end of FY 2022 and tomorrow begins the start of FY 2023. With the start of the new fiscal year comes the implementation of our Council approved salary increases. These are the same that I shared when I released the Manager’s Recommended Budget and wrote you in mid-April, but I wanted to let you know that the pay changes will appear in your July 1st paycheck.

There are many positive changes for our workforce:

• All PFT, PPT and WAE employees hired on or before 3/28/2022 will receive a minimum of a 4% salary increase; those who have worked a full-year as of July 6 will receive additional compensation to help ensure further movement within the pay range as follow:
  • Sworn public safety employees and dispatcher positions will receive an additional 3% regardless of salary, for a total salary increase of 7%.
  • Other employees whose salary is less than $50,000 will receive an additional 2%, for a total salary increase of 6%.
  • Those employees whose salary falls between $50,000 and $99,999 will receive an additional 1.5%, for a total salary increase of 5.5%.
  • Those employees making $100,000 or more will receive an additional 1%, for a total salary increase of 5%.
• Our minimum wage for all positions have been increased to $13/hour. Employees whose hourly rates are below new minimums after the 4% minimum salary increase will be brought up to new minimums. Select other ranges have also been adjusted as needed.
• There will be NO increase to employee health insurance premiums.
• The Citizen Satisfaction Bonus of up to $250 for eligible PFT and up to $125 for eligible PPT/WAE employees will be provided in December, 2022.
• Employees will continue to receive one personal leave day per quarter, along with standard vacation, sick and holiday days.
• We have set aside about $1 million for a merit bonus that is being finalized. More information about this program will be shared soon.
• Last, but not least, we will be undertaking a major compensation study over the next year to re-examine our salary structure and compensation approach. As more cities in our region have begun to examine step systems and/or other new pay models, it is time for us to do the same. We believe the external review will help position us for further enhancements in the coming months and years. We will be bringing in an outside consultant to do this work. More information about this effort will be forthcoming once the consultant is on board.

The City Council, Executive Management Team and I all very much value all that you continue to do to make our community an even better place to live, learn, work and play. The majority of our new revenue for FY 2023 was allocated for employee wage and benefit increases. Indeed, this is the most ambitious set of total compensation enhancements we have been able to provide since before the recession that hit us about thirteen years ago. To further illustrate this point, we will be sending total compensation statements to you in the near future. These statements will outline the full value of the salary and benefits you receive as a city employee.

In the meantime, if you have any questions about these changes, please feel free to contact Human Resources or me.

I hope you all have a wonderful rest of the week, and enjoy the upcoming long weekend!

Mary