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Council adopts multi-year pay adjustments; staff say $6M allocated for 2025 implementation
Summary
Bloomington Common Council adopted amendments to the city’s salary ordinance (Ordinance 20 25-03) after a presentation from Human Resources showing phased increases. Council debated sustainability, pay-grade constraints and how AFSCME work will be handled; amendment correcting a typographical error was approved and the ordinance passed unanimously (9-0).
Bloomington Common Council on Feb. 5 approved an amendment to the city’s salary ordinance designed to implement a multi-year compensation plan for appointed, nonunion, and AFSCME positions.
Erica DeSantis, director of compensation and benefits, told council the changes are part of an ongoing workforce evaluation and realignment process. She said the controller allocated $6,000,000 for 2025 to cover salary increases and related benefits; more than $4,500,000 of that has already been dedicated to initial adjustments. DeSantis said proposed changes from the planning department alone will cost about $330,000 (roughly 8.7% of the 2025 implementation funds) and that individual increases range from a few hundred dollars to nearly $40,000 for some roles.
Council members asked how the city will sustain the higher payroll costs. DeSantis and Deputy Mayor Knapp said the implementation is intended to be phased across multiple years and that an AFSCME compensation study is underway; the administration said AFSCME adjustments are expected to be requested separately and may come from a different funding pool. Human-resources staff said top pay grades were intentionally limited to preserve structure, and that expanding the grade range could be considered in future years.
Councilmember Piedmont Smith moved a brief typographical amendment (Amendment 1) correcting a mistaken “2 to 3” reference to read “3 to 2” with respect to project-manager positions; the amendment passed unanimously. After rounds of questions about wage compression, recruitment and the mechanics of the work process, the ordinance was adopted by roll call vote 9-0.
The council and administration said they will continue to monitor implementation, provide additional details to the public and return with further changes as the multi-year plan and the AFSCME study proceed.
What happens next: The administration will continue phased implementation through 2025 and bring subsequent amendments or funding requests as needed; the AFSCME study is expected to inform later adjustments.
