The Finance and Personnel Committee on Dec. 15 moved without recommendation to the full Milwaukee Common Council a request from the Department of Employee Relations to amend the salary ordinance so eligible, non‑represented city employees receive a 3% wage adjustment adopted in the 2026 budget.

Sarah Cinski, compensation supervisor with the Department of Employee Relations, told the committee the ordinance change "will effectively enact the 3% across the board that was approved in the 2026 budgets." Budget staff provided an initial verbal estimate for the full 3% increase: "3% across the board is roughly 6,900,000.0," Budget Management Division representative Brian Reiners said, and he told members a formal fiscal note would be provided by the end of the business day.

Committee discussion centered on whether the ordinance change is a technical implementation step or a substantive policy decision because it moves pay‑range maximums as well as employee salaries. Members raised two linked concerns: (1) employees who already sit at a pay‑range maximum would not receive the full 3% unless the ordinance also raises the range; and (2) moving ranges now raises future pay ceilings, with ongoing fiscal implications beyond the initial year.

"When you move the ceiling, you don't just move the ceiling for that employee or all current employees. You also move it for all future employees who are gonna be in that range," Alderman Scott Speicher said, urging the committee to consider the multi‑year cost and to obtain a departmental breakdown of who would be affected.

DER staff said moving the recruitment rate and maximum of the pay range is consistent with past practice to ensure employees at the maximum receive the raise. Committee members pressed for counts by department and pay grade. DER estimated on the record it could be "probably a couple 100, close to 1000" employees who might be affected but did not provide a definitive number during the meeting; staff committed to provide a departmental and pay‑range breakdown by the end of business.

Budget staff clarified the mayor's originally proposed 2% raise had been estimated at about $4.6 million; the committee was discussing the council‑approved 3%, which staff estimated at about $6.9 million for 2026 and which Reiners said he expected would carry forward in subsequent years.

Alderman Peter Bergellas and others asked whether leadership positions in police and fire — including the chief positions named in the salary ordinance language — would be covered. DER and budget staff said most non‑bargaining‑unit titles would be included; staff said excluded groups were those with collective‑bargaining contracts (examples cited in the file included MPSO, MPA and Local 215). Committee staff said they would provide a list of titles that would hit the range ceiling under the current ordinance by the end of the business day.

Given the outstanding data requests, Alderman Speicher moved to "refer without recommendation" to the full council so the council could consider the substitute ordinance with the pay‑range changes after members had the requested fiscal and headcount information. The committee recorded no objections to referral and the motion passed.

On a separate but related file (Item 2, File 251283), the committee adopted the non‑substituted ordinance in committee and noted a substitute that implements the 3% pay‑range changes should be offered on the full council floor tomorrow rather than adopted in committee, per staff guidance.

The committee left the final policy choice to the full council, while DER and budget staff committed to deliver a written fiscal note and a departmental/pay‑range breakdown before the council vote.