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Council directs staff to present employee pay option with 5% and $8.25 adjustment, no tax-rate increase
Summary
After a staff presentation of four budget options, the Longview City Council instructed staff to bring Option 2 to next week's vote: a 5% salary increase plus an $8.25-per-hour equivalent flat adjustment for employees on payroll as of Sept. 21, implemented without raising the current tax rate.
City staff presented four budget options on Aug. 14 that would finance employee pay changes without increasing the city's current property tax rate; council members discussed which option would most help lower-wage workers and by consensus directed staff to return next week with Option 2.
Roland McPhee, the staff budget presenter, told council that the options cost the same overall but distribute pay differently. "The state places limitations on tax revenues without compensating cities and counties for those losses or exemptions," McPhee said, framing the city’s constrained revenue choices. He said all four options could be implemented without changing the current tax rate.
Under the option council favored, eligible employees on the payroll as of Sept. 21 would receive a 5% flat salary adjustment plus an $8.25-per-hour-equivalent flat-dollar increase that staff described as producing larger percentage gains for lower-paid workers. McPhee explained the $8.25 figure is applied across an annual 2,080-hour work year to compute hourly impact and that the adjustment would be added to base pay (not a one-time lump sum).
Council members asked for implementation details — who qualifies, timing and effect on part-time workers — and staff answered that the raise would appear in the first paycheck after Oct. 9 and would be a continuing salary adjustment. Staff said roughly 100–150 lower-wage employees would see the largest percentage increase from the combined adjustment and that the city’s lowest base hourly rate is $15.24.
Councilmember discussion emphasized retention and front-line pay: supporters said option 2 targets lower-paid staff while keeping the tax rate steady. The mayor summarized the consensus: "If we choose option 2, that would mean no change to our tax rate, and we would be able to give employees a 5 percent plus $8.25 raise." McPhee confirmed staff will present Option 2 for council adoption at next week's vote.
Next steps: Staff will prepare the ordinance or budget amendment implementing Option 2 for the following meeting’s formal vote and provide payroll implementation details (eligibility, effective date and accounting treatment) during that presentation.
