Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Personnel Compensation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Clayton staff recommends 2.5% midyear pay‑range increase for nonrepresented employees; aldermen signal support
Summary
City Manager David Gibson recommended an April 1, 2025 midyear range adjustment of 2.5% to Clayton's nonrepresented pay ranges to keep the city competitive and aligned with collective‑bargaining increases; aldermen indicated support and asked staff to draft an ordinance.
City Manager David Gibson briefed the Board of Aldermen on Feb. 25 on a proposed midyear adjustment to Clayton’s pay ranges for nonrepresented employees. Staff recommended a 2.5% range increase effective April 1, 2025, to keep the city’s salary ranges aligned with the market and with negotiated increases for represented employees in the police and fire collective bargaining agreements.
Gibson said Clayton completed a comprehensive compensation study in 2023 that established target pay-range midpoints (the study targeted the 80th percentile of comparator cities). Between comprehensive studies, the city applies an annual midyear range adjustment to keep ranges aligned with competitors. Staff surveyed comparator municipalities and reported a median range adjustment of 2.5% for the current year (the average was 2.8%, influenced by a few large one‑time adjustments in other cities). Gibson said a full 2.5% range adjustment would add roughly $24,000 in costs to the FY25 budget (including benefits) beyond the 2.0% embedded in the adopted budget.
The proposed 2.5% adjustment is intended to prevent compression between represented and nonrepresented staff: several police and fire positions (sergeants and higher in police; battalion chiefs and above in fire) are included in the same pay-range system as nonrepresented employees and have guaranteed 2.5% annual range increases in their CBAs. Aldermen and staff discussed the city’s step system: employees advance to the next step on Oct. 1 based on satisfactory performance (the typical step increment is roughly 2.75%); the April range adjustment shifts range midpoints so step and range progression remain market-competitive.
Several aldermen voiced support for the staff recommendation, noting the city has seen retention improvements since prior pay adjustments and that falling behind neighboring pay scales was costly in prior years. Gibson said staff will prepare an ordinance to set the April 1 range adjustment at 2.5% and return it for formal introduction and adoption.
Next steps: Staff will prepare an ordinance to apply a 2.5% pay-range adjustment for nonrepresented positions effective April 1, 2025, and present it at a future board meeting for formal consideration.
