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Council discusses raising general employee merit increase to 2%; estimated $200,000 cost
Summary
Ogden City Council members questioned whether to increase the proposed 1.5% merit pool for general employees to 2%, a recurring cost estimated at about $200,000 split between the general fund and other funds.
Ogden City Council members debated whether to increase the proposed merit pool for general employees from 1.5% to 2% during a June 3 work session.
Council members raised the proposal as part of the budget schedule-a-1 considerations; staff estimated the recurring cost at roughly $200,000, about $120,000 to the general fund and $80,000 across other funds.
Council member Glenn introduced the item and said the increase would place the city in the middle of peer cities’ recent compensation moves. Janine, a staff member who compiled comparative data, said the 2% merit would keep the city “in the middle of the range of everybody else.”
Several council members supported the modest increase as a way to avoid larger catch-up raises later. One council member noted the recurring nature of the change and cautioned that a higher base compounds each year. “This is gonna be something that occurs now and forever,” the council member said, urging the council to weigh long-term effects.
Staff confirmed the city also includes a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for employees — 2.97% this cycle — that adds to the total compensation change when combined with merit. Public safety employees receive a separate schedule of steps; staff and council compared the resulting combined increases for sworn public-safety employees (about 6.97% with COLA and step increases) with the proposed general-staff totals.
Council members asked for more analysis of long-term impacts and how turnover and retirement patterns factor into compensation strategy. Staff recommended moving the item to the formal schedule-a-1 list for budget adoption and offered to supply multi-year fiscal impacts.
No formal vote was taken at the work session; the council indicated general support to include the 2% merit option for further consideration in the schedule-a-1 budget adjustments.
