Alexandria council reviews FY26 pay, benefits and staffing proposals amid 12% vacancy rate

Deputy City Manager Alethea Purdeau told the Alexandria City Council at its third budget work session that staff would “review programs and initiatives, carried out, or recommended in the f y 26 proposed budget” with a focus on maintaining services and addressing personnel needs.

The proposed FY26 spending plan prioritizes employee attraction and retention. Chief Human Resources Officer Alyssa Williamson said the budget includes $2,400,000 for step increases for nonbargained employees and $1,800,000 for step increases called for under bargaining contracts. Staff also propose a 1% cost‑of‑living adjustment for nonbargained employees tied to roughly $2,300,000 and $2,100,000 toward negotiated pay‑scale adjustments for bargained employees.

The budget reflects rising health‑insurance costs, Williamson said: UnitedHealthcare premiums are expected to rise “just incrementally by about half a percentage point,” while Kaiser premiums are expected to increase by “about 7%.” Councilmembers pressed staff on why Kaiser’s increase is higher; Williamson and Purdeau pointed to claims usage within the city workforce and differences in plan structures.

Why this matters: council members and staff said compensation, benefits and workplace flexibility are central to reducing a reported 12% citywide vacancy rate and to retaining staff in critical services.

Key proposals and details

- One‑time and ongoing retention funding: staff said $1,750,000 was allocated in FY25 for attraction and retention. Specific current proposals include a $756,000 one‑time incentive pool for roughly 456 high‑risk positions, a $50,000 fund for employee resource groups ($5,000 per group), $50,000 for a hard‑to‑attract position incentive program, $100,000 to expand mental‑health benefits for employees, $50,000 for spot bonuses for frontline workers, $10,000 to strengthen onboarding, and $500,000 allocated toward a compensation analysis.

- Compensation study: Williamson and staff described a multi‑phase compensation analysis funded at $500,000. The study would simplify roughly 550 job classifications, assess market competitiveness, and generate an implementation schedule showing which grades would be adjusted and at what cost. Staff said the study would produce a sustainable, cyclical review process and would include employees who are shared with partner agencies (for example, the sheriff’s office and clerk’s office).

- Vacancy and recruitment context: Purdeau said the vacancy rate has trended down from highs (around 16%) after prior incentives, reclassification work and recruitment initiatives. Councilmembers asked staff to return memos showing departmental vacancy detail and regional comparator data so the council can assess competitiveness versus neighboring jurisdictions.

- Labor negotiations and timing: Purdeau said collective bargaining negotiations will begin in April for police and fire and for a new contract covering administrative and technical employees; bargaining must be completed by September unless extended by agreement. Staff told the council that most budget impacts from negotiations would hit FY27 rather than FY26.

- Benefits and workplace flexibility: staff confirmed the city’s current remote/workplace policy was updated in 2022 and allows nonmanager employees up to two telework days with an agreement and managers one remote day, subject to approval. Councilmembers asked for benchmarking on remote work, leave accrual and creative leave approaches used by peer jurisdictions.

- Employee survey and analytics: the Office of Performance Analytics proposed $40,000 for an employee engagement survey to gather staff input about culture, resources, management and retention; director Greg Usim said the survey would be designed with human resources and the race office and could include staff advisory input.

Council direction and next steps

Councilmembers requested memos with departmental vacancy breakdowns, regional compensation comparators, and scenarios for potential shared health‑insurance arrangements with ACPS. Staff said they will return with those memos, proceed with the compensation study planning, and incorporate council feedback into the bargaining and budget timelines.

Ending

Staff framed the FY26 proposals as efforts to stabilize staffing and invest in retention while limiting long‑term ongoing commitments amid regional uncertainty. Councilmembers signaled interest in further detail before adoption and asked for follow‑up memos and comparators to guide decisions at upcoming work sessions.