Knoxville leaders review recruitment, retention and pay strategies at council workshop

At a City Council workshop in Knoxville focused on employee recruitment, retention and development, city leaders, department chiefs and employee representatives reviewed progress since the city’s 2022 comprehensive compensation changes and discussed next steps for addressing salary compression, staffing gaps and benefits.

City administrators and employee representatives said recruitment numbers and hire rates have improved since the 2022 compensation study and implementation, but officials cautioned that compression and continued shortages in public service roles remain. Deputy Chief Operating Officer Chad Webb said citywide applications roughly doubled between 2021–22 and 2024–25 and the city processed a record number of new hires last year. Webb said KPD received more than 1,000 initial applicants this year and the city saw nearly 8,000 total applications in 2024–25.

The nut graf: The discussion centered on balancing the gains made from a one‑time implementation of a comprehensive compensation plan in 2022 with ongoing problems created when entry wages rise faster than longer‑tenured employees’ pay (salary compression). Officials outlined near‑term actions — a longevity study, continued benchmarking, a second comprehensive salary study in FY26–27 and targeted programs for recruitment and development — and highlighted outcomes already visible in improved turnover and applicant quality.

Officials and employee representatives described measurable improvements. The fire department’s turnover fell from about 7% to 2% and several general‑government categories showed lower turnover; Webb said turnover across many departments has trended downward. Webb and others presented example salary changes over the last five years: a Police Officer I pay range that rose from about $40,599 to roughly $65,000, a senior officer example rising from about $72,000 to about $91,000, and entry firefighter/recruit pay increases from the mid‑$30,000s to about $45,000. Public service worker pay was noted as moving from roughly $25.05/hour in 2020 to about $36/hour more recently.

Employee representatives acknowledged the progress and urged more work on remaining issues. Detective Jason Booker, speaking for police employees, urged council and staff to consider revising a city code provision (identified in the presentation as City Code 13.05) that requires veterans to “buy back” military service credit quickly after probation; the pension board’s estimate presented to the group placed the cost for some veterans at about 67% of their annual salary.

Stephanie Guptel, president of the City Employees Association and representing non‑uniform employees, described salary compression in public service positions and cited the 2022 MAG compensation study’s warnings about compression, plus a living‑wage estimate (MIT figure cited in the workshop) of $22.37 an hour for a single adult in Knoxville. Guptel said 255 regular full‑time city employees across 12 departments still fall below that living‑wage figure and that many public service worker classifications have only small differences between long‑tenured employees and new hires (she cited an example difference of about $808.70 in base pay after removing longevity pay).

Fire employee rep Larry McPhee (identified in remarks at the workshop) and Fire Chief Sharp described recruitment outreach (high‑school and college visits, recruitment expos) and training incentives. Chief Sharp said the department currently staffs most companies with three personnel daily and that four‑person apparatus staffing remains a long‑term goal; he also described an expanded internal advanced EMT program and continued funding/support for paramedic training, which he said costs about $10,000 per trainee when provided through external paramedic school.

Police Chief Paul Noel said the department moved to 12‑hour shifts at low staffing levels to maintain patrol hours, and with rising staffing the department is now evaluating scheduling alternatives with employee input; any move away from 12‑hour shifts would reduce patrol hours on the street and carry operational tradeoffs. Chief Noel also said the co‑response (co‑response/behavioral health) program operates six teams; he described a need for 12 teams to increase coverage and said the department applied for a grant to expand but did not receive it.

Benefits and program details: Katie Tanner, benefits manager, reported that since the paid parental leave program began on Jan. 1, 2025, there have been 52 cases: 27 employees have completed leave and returned, 10 are currently on leave and 15 are scheduled later this year; Tanner said one employee has not returned after leave. The council heard that the city has maintained flat employee health care costs for 11 straight years and that the city is seeking an RFP to provide free family gym memberships for employees. The city also increased tuition reimbursement maximums (presented as $5,250 per year) and expanded eligible educational providers to include technical schools.

Officials proposed several next steps: a longevity program study to address compression, a Harvard‑Bloomberg employee engagement program, a firefighter strategic plan and overtime analysis, continual benchmarking and a scheduled comprehensive compensation study in FY26–27. Webb said the city’s ordinance now requires a comprehensive salary survey every five years and that departments will also perform interim benchmarking.

Council members asked for additional data (for example, the share of employees who live within city limits) and clarity on program durations. Dr. Kelly Drummond (Director of HR) told council the 4.2% uniform pay increase initially enacted as part of the step program in 2022 is time‑limited and that the administration will seek council approval next fiscal year to extend it for one more year while strategic plans and the compensation study proceed.

The meeting closed with officials thanking employee representatives and restating the administration’s goal to position Knoxville as a model regional employer while continuing work on compression, retention and recruitment.

Ending: City staff said they will return to council with additional data and formal proposals — including the longevity study findings and the requested extension for uniform pay steps — ahead of next year’s budget votes.