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Budget workshop includes 3% across‑the‑board increase; council asks for wage-study reconciliation and FTE breakdown
Summary
Finance director told council the FY2026 draft includes a 3% pay increase and no change to the 69 budgeted positions; councilors asked for person-by-person reconciliation against the wage study and for FTE reporting that counts part‑time, PRN and volunteer hours.
The draft fiscal 2026 budget presented at a Sept. 2025 workshop includes a 3% pay increase “built in across all the funds for all personnel,” Finance Director Adam Thompson said, a step staff described as intended to continue progress toward a prior wage study target.
Council members asked for more detail. A council member requested a reconciliation showing the wage-study targets, the adjustments already made and projected placement for 2026 so the council can see, “person by person what happened,” and how the 3% assumption affects progress toward the study’s midpoints. Thompson said the earlier implementation moved many employees toward the market but did not reach the study’s midpoints for all titles.
Staff also clarified the difference between budgeted positions and total people on payroll. Thompson said the budget continues to show 69 budgeted positions for FY2026; when asked how many were filled, staff said 68 positions were currently filled. Thompson told the council the city has roughly 102 individuals on the payroll roster when part‑time, PRN, reserve officers and volunteer firefighters are counted. Council members asked staff to present full-time-equivalent (FTE) calculations that consolidate part‑time, PRN and volunteer staffing into comparable units for budgeting and benefits calculations.
The council also asked staff to examine volunteer stipend practices. Thompson said volunteer firefighters receive a per-call reimbursement (not payroll) paid quarterly and described in the workshop: $5 per call, up to a $50 monthly cap (paid as reimbursement), and the city does not withhold payroll taxes on those reimbursements. Some councilors raised questions about whether that approach creates tax or liability exposures and asked staff and the city attorney to confirm compliance.
Ending: Councilers asked staff to return with a wage-study reconciliation, a FTE conversion schedule, and legal guidance on stipends and tax treatment before finalizing personnel lines in the FY2026 budget.
