Haysville council approves pay-band revision after council questions on inflation and retention

The Haysville City Council voted to approve a revision to the city's employee pay bands after discussion about the size of increases, recent inflation, and staff retention.

Councilmembers pressed staff for an estimate of the overall percentage change in payroll under the new bands. One councilmember cited a figure of "13.4" (percent) during discussion; staff clarified that the compensation study moved employees individually based on years in service and step placement rather than applying a single uniform percentage and that some employees saw step reductions depending on step alignment.

Councilmembers also noted that cumulative inflation across recent years (as presented during the meeting) totaled roughly 17.7% when adding annual CPI increases cited for 2022'025. Staff and council members said the pay-band proposal (roughly 13.4% in council discussion) would still leave the city behind peers in the region and could hamper retention of good employees.

After discussion, Councilman Walters proposed approval "as written" and the council voted to adopt the pay-band revision on a roll-call vote.

Why it matters: Council said the revision is intended to keep the city's pay competitive and avoid losing employees to neighboring jurisdictions; staff noted Haysville was on the low end compared with nearby municipalities.

Implementation: Staff indicated the detailed movement of each employee depends on current step and years of service; the finance/HR department will apply the new pay chart to individual employees and return information if requested.