Council amends municipal code section on step-up pay to add job titles

The Tuscaloosa City Council voted to amend municipal code section 19-62(b) to add several job titles to the city's step-up pay provision and to remove language referencing "all departments."

A city staff presenter said the change reflects additions to the pay plan since the section was last updated and described the revisions as primarily housekeeping: adding titles such as building and grounds maintenance operator, groundskeeper, groundskeeper 2 and sweeper/flusher truck operator. "This is related to step up pay. Since we last updated this section, there have been several job titles that we have added to our pay plan such as building and grounds maintenance operator, groundskeeper, groundskeeper 2, sweeper flusher truck operator," said Speaker 3, a city staff member. The presenter said the amendment also removes a broad phrase referencing all departments.

Councilmembers who questioned the item were told the changes did not alter pay amounts or percentages and that the amendment is intended to align code references with the current pay plan. "Tell them we're not changing any numbers or percentages or dollar amounts or anything like that. It's just a language cleanup to reference the new [zoning chapter]," said Speaker 2, a council member, noting the revisions are not substantive. After a motion and second, the council approved the amendment by voice vote.

Staff told councilmembers they had communicated the revisions with external stakeholders during prior zoning work to avoid confusion. The amendment updates the municipal code to reflect current job titles and to remove outdated or overly broad language; it does not change pay rates.