Radcliff council reviews pay-plan and staffing changes for police, fire and other departments

City staff and councilmembers discussed proposed amendments to the City of Radcliff classification and compensation pay plan and related policies at a June 9 special meeting, including changes to funded staffing counts and adjustments to police and fire pay.

The council heard a reading of an ordinance that would amend the cityclassification and compensation pay plan employee-strength table. The reading showed funded-strength increases including a funded police lieutenant detective (0 to 1), police officer staffing increasing from 21 to 22, firefighter staffing increasing from 18 to 19, parks worker positions increasing from 3 to 4, and the addition of a building department manager (authorized and funded strength 1). An administrative assistant position was listed in the reading as amended from an authorized strength of 1 to 0.

On pay and pay structure, staff member Chance Pike said the administration and department managers recommended adjustments aimed at keeping local pay competitive for police and fire recruits and retaining staff. The proposals discussed included a 4% increase to starting pay for police and for fire and raising the annual step increase from 2% to 3%.

Pike described an existing retirement-related cap that previously limited certain retirement-eligibility pay adjustments to $1,000. The proposal presented in the meeting would replace that limit with a formula of either 3% or a cap of $3,500 (whichever is lower) to better balance long-career employees who did not receive prior increases and higher-ranking staff who receive larger percentage increases through promotion. A council member proposed raising the cap to $3,500; staff reported that the working proposal under discussion was 3% or $3,000 to $3,500, depending on wording. Councilmembers emphasized the need to monitor hazardous-duty and retirement-related pay to retain experienced personnel.

The council also discussed per diem policy adjustments for employee travel. Staff said the daily per diem for overnight travel would be moved from $180 to $220 (the transcript recorded the figure as "$2.20," which staff clarified in context to mean $220), an increase of about $40, and smaller per-meal adjustments for breakfast, lunch and dinner of approximately $2–$3 each. Staff said those per diem changes would be presented to council for a vote the following week.

Staff noted an existing program that allows the city to hire certain retired officers on one-year contracts without the city paying retirement benefits; state rules allow up to 11 such contract officers. The council discussed applying a 3% increase to those contract officers upon contract renewal. Staff said there are presently about six or seven contract officers under that program.

No final council votes on the pay-plan or per-diem changes were recorded in the provided transcript; staff told councilmembers the policies and ordinance language would be formalized and brought back for a vote at the next regular meeting.

Throughout the discussion, councilmembers expressed concern about balancing competitive pay to retain and recruit police and firefighters with the citybudget constraints. One councilmember said the city is nearly at full police staffing and that recent pay-plan changes had helped recruitment and retention.