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Meridian council approves $1,500 raise for eligible full-time employees, freezes other raises for 2025
Summary
On Jan. 7 the Meridian City Council approved a $1,500 pay increase for eligible full-time employees and a separate motion to freeze other pay increases for the remainder of the 2025 budget year, excluding promotions and education/training-related increases.
The Meridian City Council on Jan. 7 approved a $1,500 pay increase for eligible full-time employees and voted to freeze other pay increases for the remainder of the 2025 budget year, except for promotions and education or training-related raises.
Council members said the measures were intended to address workers who missed a prior raise and to limit ad-hoc or preferential pay increases. Discussion during the meeting focused on eligibility thresholds and how the new increase would interact with earlier salary adjustments.
Council members and staff clarified that the $1,500 increase applies to full-time exempt and nonexempt employees meeting the council’s stated threshold. During discussion a councilmember said, “So they’ll stay at 65,” indicating that the council intends a $65,000 threshold for eligibility. Members also raised questions about employees who received raises in the prior cycle; a councilmember said some employees who previously received raises had salary changes around the low‑to‑mid $60,000 range and asked whether those workers would be eligible under the new action. The council responded that the threshold would be enforced as discussed.
In a separate but related motion the council approved an action to freeze any pay increases for the remainder of the budget year except those tied to promotions, education, or training. Proponents said the freeze is designed to preserve checks and balances and avoid favoritism in awarding raises while preserving pay adjustments tied to job advancement and training.
Both motions were put to a vote and approved during the Jan. 7 meeting. The meeting record reports the outcomes as “Ayes have it” without providing a roll-call tally in the transcript.
The council did not provide implementation details in the meeting; staff indicated steps for administrative implementation will follow and that documentation will reflect the eligibility and any grace or apportionment rules for deposits, payroll, or related adjustments.
