Keene budget workshop lays out proposed COLA, new hires and fringe-benefit changes; no action taken

City Manager Seitz presented fiscal-year 2026 personnel and fringe-benefit projections at a special City of Keene budget workshop (no action taken) and outlined proposed cost-of-living adjustments, new hires for public safety and development, and benefit-plan changes intended to reduce the city’s employer costs while preserving employee coverage.

Seitz said the session was informational only: "this is just a workshop... the goal is to educate, be transparent so that we can see what the needs of the department is, what the future needs are, and formulate a plan around that," and emphasized no votes would be taken at the meeting.

The proposal presented to council would include a 3% cost-of-living increase for directors and managers and a 5% increase for hourly staff, with existing step plans remaining for police and fire. The manager’s presentation also listed several proposed hires: a full-time marketing/PR position partially funded across departments, a development-services coordinator to speed permitting, and three new firefighter positions with a…