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Brooksville council approves Evergreen compensation changes after budget cuts; one member objects
Summary
The City of Brooksville approved pay adjustments recommended by Evergreen Solutions after staff reallocated budget items to cover costs; the measure passed 4-1 amid debate over timing and the city's overall deficit.
The City of Brooksville City Council approved a package of pay-classification changes based on a compensation study by Evergreen Solutions, voting 4-1 to implement the changes effective Oct. 1, 2025. The council majority said reworked budget line items would cover the projected cost.
Council approved action followed a presentation by Kyle Martin, the city's human resources director, who said Evergreen found 89% of city positions paid below market and recommended targeted salary adjustments affecting 89 employees. Martin told the council the full cost to implement Evergreen's recommendations was $480,230.13 and that staff had redistributed previously approved general-fund items so the general fund impact would be net positive.
Those reallocations included postponing a full-time parks attendant ($55,000), delaying a parks tractor purchase ($110,000), reclassifying a streets position that reduced costs by $6,240, and a hiring freeze/organizational adjustments of $55,000, Martin said. With those and other changes, staff reported the general fund shortfall was eliminated and a $16,870.16 surplus would be returned to reserves.
During the public debate, one councilmember said the study felt "vague and broad" and expressed concern with approving raises while the city still faces a budget deficit. That councilmember voted against the measure. Supporters argued that the adjustments were necessary to reduce turnover and improve recruitment for public-works and utility crews whose duties the public repeatedly praised during citizen input.
The council did not change the study vendor's report; Martin confirmed Evergreen Solutions prepared the market analysis and that the vendor contract cost the city $28,500. The council approved the compensation plan with the staff-proposed budget adjustments, directing implementation on Oct. 1.
The decision will be recorded in the city payroll and budget documents; council members said they expected to continue looking for further savings as the fiscal year proceeds.
