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Astoria council repeals old police‑management pay rule and adopts updated salary resolution
Summary
Councilors voted to repeal Resolution 21‑2 and adopt an updated salary schedule for police management and other nonclassified staff; HR said the change gives staff more flexibility to align pay with market data and preserve department‑level policies for premiums.
The Astoria City Council voted to repeal an older salary resolution covering police management and nonclassified staff and to adopt an updated pay schedule that city staff say better aligns with market data and allows department‑level policy adjustments.
HR Director Ashley Dietz told the council the prior resolution codified set percentage separations between ranks — figures like "11.7" and "24.5" that were not tied to market information — and that staff propose removing rigid percentage floors and instead using a market‑informed pay schedule combined with department policies to protect certification pay and other premiums. "What we were trying to do is… expand our ability to look at not only in relation to those that they're supervising, so a supervisor differential, but also in relation to the markets for the police sergeants and the chiefs," Dietz said.
Councilors expressed concern about losing salary guardrails and about fiscal impacts. Councilor Davis said she wants to avoid uncontrolled budget increases but also stressed the need to remain competitive to retain managers. Councilors asked staff to provide department‑level policies and market data as part of future bargaining and implementation.
The repeal of Resolution 21‑2 passed on a roll‑call vote, followed immediately by adoption of the updated salary resolution; staff noted the new schedule will be retroactive to the start of the fiscal year, July 1.
