Council hears how pay, reclassifications, health and RSA rate increases are built into proposed budget

Human-resources staff described the city’s structured job-classification system and outlined the ways positions may change pay: position reclassification, promotion/demotion, pay-plan adjustments and merit increases. Lisa Thrash, the human-resources director, told the council that the proposed budget includes a 3% pay-plan adjustment, merit increases and multiple reclassifications for department supervisors and specified positions.

Thrash said the budget basis for each position’s projected pay starts with the employee’s pay on the last day of the current fiscal year, then adds proposed merit and any planned pay adjustments. She also explained pay differences for non‑standard schedules such as firefighters and wastewater operators: firefighters’ budgeted pay accounts for modified annual hours (including overtime and holiday pay) and education incentives; police pay includes shift differentials that affect overtime calculations; wastewater plant operators have a different overtime-hours calculation.

On benefits, finance and HR staff described proposed changes to the group health fund and retirement contributions. HR recommended increasing the city’s employer contribution to the group health fund by $100 per employee (raising the employer contribution from $11,000 to $12,000 per enrolled employee in the proposal). Thrash also said the city plans modest increases in employee payroll deductions: about $3 per month for an individual plan, $24 for a two-person plan and $40 for a family plan, based on the larger number of lives on the plan.

Staff also cited higher RSA costs calculated by retirement actuaries: the RSA tier‑1 employer rate was described as rising from 14.3% to 15.31%, and tier‑1B from 12.49% to 13.45%; staff said employee contributions remain governed by RSA rules.

Why it matters: these personnel and benefit items make up a substantial portion of the operating budget and are subject to council approval. Councilors asked for specific line-item rollups and historic spending to better judge the proposal and to confirm the budget’s assumptions before final adoption.

Sources: remarks by Lisa Thrash (Human Resources director) and finance staff during the council’s budget work session. No formal votes were taken on pay or benefits at the meeting.