Carmel committee sends proposed salary ordinance back after staff presentation and widespread employee concern

The Carmel Finance, Utilities & Rules Committee on Sept. 23 heard a detailed Human Resources presentation on a proposed overhaul of the city’s civilian pay structure and voted to return the proposal to the City Council with a negative recommendation after lengthy public and council debate.

The presentation, led by HR staff, described a multi-step process that began in 2024 with a contractor, NFP, and continued in 2025 with an internal job analysis (JAQ) that produced 300-plus questionnaires and recommended widening pay bands so employees do not “max out” in five years. HR staff said the annualized fiscal impact for 2026 of the recommended grade moves is roughly $8,080,000 and that averted 2027 step increases could represent about $318,000 in cost avoidance depending on implementation. Finance staff said the proposal does not change overtime policy.

Why it matters: dozens of current and long‑tenured city employees turned out to the committee meeting and raised concerns that the rollout and employee communication were confusing and that some workers could see lower take-home pay or lose vehicle benefits. City employees warned the change could undermine morale unless the administration clearly ties any new pay bands to transparent performance metrics and implementation rules.

Committee discussion and public…