City to send employees wage notices after study; library board to finalize its own decision

City Manager Joe Moore said on Sept. 17 that city staff plan to send personal letters to each employee showing the salary and step where they would land on Jan. 1 under the recently completed wage study, and he asked the council whether there were objections to proceeding.

"I'd like to give Deb the green light to send a letter to each of our employees telling them what they would be scheduled to, be paid on the January 1," Moore said, describing the intent to remove ambiguity for staff about pay changes tied to the wage study.

Council members raised one scheduling note: Moore and Trisha Davey said they would await any decisions the library board needs to make. Trisha Davey noted the library board had a meeting scheduled to discuss the wage study and any actions for library staff, and that the city would not send final letters affecting library employees until that board concluded its decision.

Why it matters: Distributing individualized wage letters would communicate concrete compensation outcomes stemming from the wage study and affect staff expectations ahead of the Jan. 1 effective date. The library board's parallel review affects library staff whose compensation is financed through the library budget.

Ending: Moore said that if no council member raised substantial reluctance, the city would send letters in the next few days but that the administration would coordinate with the library board on its separate timeline.