Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Personnel Compensation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board adopts 2.5% range adjustment for nonrepresented city employees; debate over including manager and clerk
Summary
The Board approved Bill 7062 to increase nonrepresented salary ranges by 2.5% effective April 1, 2025. Members debated whether the city manager and city clerk — whose compensation the board sets under the charter — should be included now or reviewed later in performance evaluations.
The Clayton Board of Aldermen adopted Bill 7062 March 3 to raise nonrepresented salary ranges by 2.5% effective April 1, 2025, citing a survey of comparator cities that showed a median market movement of 2.5% for the fiscal year.
City Manager David Gibson summarized staff recommendations and the fiscal impact, saying the budget already included a 2% adjustment and that increasing the range to 2.5% would require an additional $24,111.50. Gibson said staff recommended the board approve the ordinance to keep ranges aligned with comparator cities.
The meeting produced an extended discussion about whether the change should automatically apply to two positions for which the board sets compensation by charter — the city manager and the city clerk. Several aldermen said they wanted more time or more data before adding those two positions to the ordinance change; others argued that the ordinance is a market-based, administrative adjustment and that excluding the manager and clerk would unfairly delay their alignment with the market.
City Attorney O'Keefe advised that merit or performance evaluations for identifiable employees may be discussed in closed session under Missouri law but that general market-based compensation is a public matter for open meeting. He said an amendment to include the manager and clerk that simply applied the same 2.5% adjustment would be appropriate to discuss in open session if the board chose to do so.
After debate, the board chose not to amend Bill 7062 to include the city manager and the city clerk and adopted the bill as written. The minutes show unanimous consent to consider and adopt the ordinance the night of introduction and a roll-call vote in favor.
Staff noted that range adjustments are scheduled each April while performance-based step increases are handled after September performance reviews; staff said the split timing was intended to use the most current market data while preserving October step increases tied to performance.
Karen Dilber, director of finance, and other staff answered questions about fiscal impacts and revenue sources. Dilber noted that while utility-tax figures initially appeared down year over year, the prior year included a one-time Charter settlement; adjusted for that, utilities were up 4.2% year over year. She also described one-time changes in parking revenue tied to a terminated county agreement.
The ordinance was adopted; staff will implement the April 1 range adjustments and prepare payroll and budget updates.
