Melbourne Beach commissioners press for clearer payroll data, split stormwater and roads funds during budget workshop

The Melbourne Beach Town Commission on July 15 held a budget workshop that centered on proposed employee pay changes, the town’s calculation of a cost‑of‑living adjustment and how capital funds for stormwater and road projects are organized.

Commissioners pressed Town Manager Elizabeth Mascara and Finance Manager Jennifer Kerr for more documentation — including job descriptions, completed performance evaluations, the salary surveys used to set pay, and a side‑by‑side comparison of current versus proposed total compensation (base pay plus benefits). Vice Mayor Don Barlow, Commissioner Tim Reed and others questioned large, single‑year raises proposed for several positions and said the commission needs written justification tied to either documented performance or clear recruitment/retention needs.

“This is discussion we need to have with the numbers in front of us,” Commissioner Tim Reed said, arguing that salary adjustments above an across‑the‑board COLA should be supported with evaluations and market comparisons.

Why it matters: Commissioners said they want the budget and supporting records in a format that makes it possible to review and justify exceptions to any general COLA. The discussion covered several individual proposals that would materially increase payroll costs if adopted, including a proposed 10% increase for the town clerk and double‑digit raises for department chiefs in draft figures presented to the commission.

Most important details - The manager’s draft showed a 3% across‑the‑board COLA in the working budget; some commissioners and staff cited a regional CPI‑based figure near 2.4% and asked that the COLA number be verified before the commission adopts it into the budget. Commissioner Reed said any adopted COLA should match the documented CPI or be labeled and budgeted…