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Columbia City council advances 2026 salary ordinance with targeted pay-range and benefits edits
Summary
Council approved first reading of Ordinance 2025-21 adjusting 2026 pay ranges, including changes to GIS coordinator max, seasonal parks minimum from 12 to 10, added quartermaster duties, and clarifications to holiday-pay and benefits language; staff said hours corrections will be updated before second reading.
Columbia City’s common council advanced its 2026 salary ordinance on first reading on Nov. 12, approving several targeted changes to job classifications, pay ranges and benefits language.
City staff presenting Ordinance 2025-21 said the update rewrites several ranges and clarifies benefits. ‘‘So, for example, the GIS coordinator… I put the whole thing in red,’’ the staff presenter said while walking through edits to maximums and job-title changes. The ordinance lowers the seasonal parks part‑time minimum from 12 to 10 hours ‘‘because that’s truly where [employees] normally start,’’ the presenter said. Staff also added a quartermaster position to track turnout gear and equipment inventories.
The ordinance clarifies holiday-pay eligibility and reinstates specific reimbursement amounts now listed in the ordinance text, the presenter said. Staff noted a correction to a communications-hours figure that will be changed from 2,080 to 1,952 before second reading.
Council asked for parity on a certified plant‑operator classification and discussed raising its maximum step to match similar equipment-operator pay. The mayoral designee said: ‘‘If the council’s approving with that change, then I don’t have any problem with bumping certified for an operator up to 33 versus 32.’’
Council members said most department heads had reviewed the proposed changes; staff said they had consulted people including Sean and Matt. The council voted to pass the ordinance on first reading and move it to a subsequent meeting for second reading.
What’s next: staff will update the communications-hours figure and return the ordinance for second reading where final numeric edits will be confirmed.
