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Council adopts salary ordinance updating AFSCME pay steps and incentives
Summary
Bloomington's council approved ordinance amending the 2026 salary ordinance to align with a newly negotiated AFSCME agreement, adding enhanced step progression, premiums, CDL incentives and a relocation tool; ordinance passed 8-0.
The Common Council unanimously adopted Ordinance 2026-03 on Jan. 14 to amend the 2026 salary ordinance for appointed, nonunion and AFSCME employees to align pay policy with a recently negotiated union agreement.
Human Resources Director Shar Paycheck presented the ordinance and said it reflects nine months of negotiations with union leadership and city negotiators. "This agreement has already been voted on, and it was passed, 82 to 7 in December," Paycheck said, summarizing the bargaining outcome and explaining the ordinance's primary changes.
Key changes include administrative cleanups to outdated language, enhanced longevity step progressions intended to let AFSCME-represented employees "earn more money faster," updates to premiums and allowances (including on-call pay, tool and clothing allowances and shift premiums), training and professional-development provisions, CDL incentives for recruitment and a relocation incentive designed to help recruit hard-to-fill positions. The ordinance also formalizes a cap at step 3 for grade-14 positions (department-head level) as a compensation-management decision.
Council members thanked staff and union negotiators for the work. With no substantive public comment, the council called the roll and adopted the ordinance 8-0. Staff said the amendments aim to improve recruitment and retention of city employees and to align the city pay policy with the union contract.
