Council adopts salary ranges but tables action on employees paid above ranges amid budget pressures

The Pinetop Lakeside Town Council on Tuesday approved a formal salary schedule — adopting the 2022 consultant study adjusted for cost-of-living adjustments approved since that study — but paused on further action to reconcile individual employee pay that exceeds the new ranges. Interim Town Manager Miller told the council the study had not previously been finalized by the council and recommended formal adoption with the 3% COLAs the council had already approved.

Councilors engaged in a lengthy, sometimes-emotional discussion about whether a $2 hourly increase paid previously to employees should be incorporated into the wage scale, and whether staff had authorized raises outside council‑approved ranges over recent years. Council adopted the pay ranges but did not direct immediate rollbacks; instead, councilors asked staff to return with a comprehensive review of positions not included in the 2022 study and of the cases where employees’ current pay exceeds the adopted range.

Rick (staff) reported the total overage for employees paid above the designated ranges — including wages and employer retirement/benefit costs — was about $70,309. Staff recommended a measured approach: review job duties, consider whether titles or ranges should change, and, if not justified, bring employees back into ranges for future increases (for example, limiting raises to cost-of-living adjustments once an employee is at the top of a range). After robust public comment from town employees and residents urging protection of staff pay and warning of turnover risks, council voted 4–3 to approve the salary schedule and then voted to table decisions about reconciling over‑range wages and directed the town manager to return with a full review by Sept. 18.

Councilors said they wanted to ensure fairness and consistent job descriptions, while acknowledging the town’s tight fiscal position documented in the July report. Interim manager Miller and department directors were asked to prepare the analysis and recommendations.