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Dardenne Prairie reviews Evergreen salary study; mayor to propose alderman stipend and pay ordinance
Summary
The City reviewed a compensation study by Evergreen Solutions showing local salaries sit about 41% through peer pay ranges and roughly 6.3% below peer averages; the mayor said he will place an ordinance to raise alderman pay (including a proposed $90–$100 monthly stipend) and staff recommended a 10-step pay plan with either a $22,000 "bring-to-minimum" or a targeted 10-year tenure parity option.
The Dardenne Prairie Board of Aldermen reviewed a compensation benchmark study from Evergreen Solutions on Oct. 1, during a special work session where the city administrator introduced consultant Mark Holcomb and the report's recommendations.
Mark Holcomb, the Evergreen Solutions presenter, summarized the study design, saying the firm compared Dardenne Prairie to 13 peer governments and adjusted for cost-of-living differences. "Your salaries right now are about 41% of the way through their ranges," Holcomb said, and the city’s base pay sits about "6.3% behind the average pay of the other organizations," a gap the consultant said is worth addressing through a formal pay structure.
The firm recommended establishing a 10-step, step-based pay plan to give employees a predictable progression and to improve both internal equity and external market alignment. Holcomb outlined two implementation options: a "bring to minimum" approach that would move employees below a new minimum up to that step (estimated cost about $22,000, roughly 2% of current payroll, with an average adjustment of about $1,500 per affected employee), or a 10-year tenure-parity approach that slots employees on the scale by years of service (estimated to cost about 4% of payroll and to adjust fewer employees more substantially).
City Administrator Cathy Pratt said staff supports adopting a formal pay structure and noted the city will use the new salary plan for budgeting. "We will use the new salary plan for budgeted salaries," she said, describing the plan as something staff and the mayor would implement and review periodically.
The mayor signaled he will bring forward an ordinance to adjust alderman compensation and discussed a monthly stipend to offset digital-work expenses; he described the stipend as roughly "$90–$100" per month to align alderman pay with peer cities. City Attorney John Young cautioned that state rules limit when compensation changes take effect: "Any increase in the compensation to the Alderman does require an ordinance," Young said, adding that the Missouri Constitution prohibits aldermen from increasing their salary while in office, so any ordinance would not take effect for sitting aldermen until after the next elections for affected seats.
Board members discussed implementation details and follow-up steps. Staff said the city would assign pay grades to classifications, finalize slotting, and include the new pay plan in upcoming budget work. The mayor and city administrator said they would move ahead with an ordinance for alderman compensation and return detailed cost and implementation information for board consideration.
Next steps: staff will incorporate the proposed pay plan into the city budget process, the mayor will present an ordinance addressing alderman compensation (subject to the timing constraints described by the city attorney), and staff will provide additional details on employee slotting and projected fiscal impacts.
