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Brentwood committee approves compensation policy motions, EDST transfer and permit forecast boost
Summary
The Brentwood Ways and Means Committee voted to move several budget and compensation recommendations to the Board of Aldermen, including a forecast increase for building-permit revenue, notification to the EDST board and use of $1,000,000 of EDST funds for a COPs payment; the committee also approved an annual CPI-based salary adjustment policy. Public safety leaders urged a higher compensation target during comments.
The Brentwood Ways and Means Committee on a 4–0 recorded vote approved multiple budget and compensation recommendations and instructed staff to take the measures to the full Board of Aldermen.
The committee voted to increase the FY2025 building-permit revenue forecast from $200,000 to $250,000 and to apply the same assumption to subsequent years. The body also voted to use $1,000,000 from the city—s Economic Development Sales Tax (EDST) fund to help fund a 2018 certificates-of-participation (COPs) payment and to notify the EDST Board of that recommendation. Finance staff told members that UMB had set aside roughly $6.2 million in reserve dollars related to these certificates, and that the EDST fund currently shows reserves in the $6.0–$6.2 million range.
On workforce pay, the committee approved a motion recorded in the transcript as setting employee compensation at a stated percentile (the motion is transcribed as the "16th percentile"). The record shows prior committee discussion of options at the 50th and 60th percentiles and consultant analysis of 50th, 60th and higher percentiles; the numeric value recorded in the roll-call motion appears inconsistent with that earlier discussion and is flagged for clarification at the Board level.
Separately, the committee approved a motion to adjust the entire salary scale annually by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) using a multi-year average (consultant recommended a five-year smoothing to avoid year-to-year volatility) subject to budget capacity; staff will recalculate updated figures for Board review.
The committee also advanced proposed property-tax-rate materials for required publication and hearings, noting final numbers from St. Louis County were still pending and that any rate adjustments could be made before final budget adoption.
Public safety officials used the citizen-comment period to press the panel for a higher compensation target. Sergeant Lang and Sergeant Todd Lambert of the Brentwood Police Department said the department is no longer competitive with neighboring agencies and recommended a 70th-percentile target to improve recruitment and retention; they warned that lower percentile choices and step-plan backdating would drive experienced officers and firefighters to other departments and raise long-term replacement costs.
What happens next: staff will prepare updated fiscal projections and legal/memo support for each recommendation to bring to the Board of Aldermen, including the EDST notification and the proposed property-tax schedule; the compensation decisions and the EDST funding recommendation will be reviewed by the full Board.
