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Council hears staffing pressures: wage compression, hiring challenges and plan to reorganize emergency management and communications
Summary
City staff told the council FY2026 must address wage compression between union and nonbargaining employees, recruitment shortfalls for planning and inspections, and a proposed reorganization to create an Emergency Management and Communications department using existing staff.
City Manager Dave Huggins and department directors described personnel pressures across the organization, including wage compression between union and non‑bargaining staff, recruitment difficulties in planning and inspections, and short‑term use of consultants to maintain permit and inspection workflows.
Huggins warned that newly negotiated union contracts and step increases are narrowing the gap between bargaining and supervisory pay, and that over time this “pincer effect” will make retention and promotion of managers more difficult. “We've only funded a 4% increase this year for non bargaining... but we are starting to run into a crunch point,” he said. The proposal includes a 4% general…
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