Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Labor And Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Goldendale council ratifies municipal employees contract, adopts revised salary schedule
Summary
The Goldendale City Council unanimously authorized the mayor to execute a collective bargaining agreement covering municipal employees (Jan. 1, 2024–Dec. 31, 2025) and approved ordinance 15-39 to revise the 2024 salary schedule after discussion about splitting the city administrator and public works director roles and budget impacts.
The Goldendale City Council voted to authorize the mayor to execute the collective bargaining agreement with the municipal employees bargaining unit and approved ordinance 15-39, which incorporates a revised 2024 salary schedule into the city pay grid.
Tony, a negotiator on the line, asked the council to ratify the agreement and "authorize the mayor to sign the collective bargaining agreement" so staff could implement the contract. The council then voted to authorize the mayor; the motion passed unanimously.
The move to codify the revised salary schedule and waive a second reading prompted questions from council members about job descriptions and budget impacts. Lauren Baker asked, "Why would we waive the second reading? Why not provide a time for public feedback?" and sought more information on how positions were split and how the changes compared to past practice.
Sandy (city administrator) explained that the salary adjustments reflect the union contract and that the revised pay plan must be incorporated into the citywide salary grid for nonunion employees. Council members noted the separation of the city administrator and public works director roles and asked for clearer job descriptions and a breakdown of costs.
Council discussed a staff estimate that the change represents roughly "$168,000 a year approximately in wages" to cover the administrative positions; Jen (the city accountant) said the budget "definitely has capacity for this year and moving forward" but recommended a budget committee discussion to review long-term sustainability.
On a recorded voice vote over the ordinance and waiver of the second reading, the council approved ordinance 15-39; the transcript records three ayes and one nay on that motion. The meeting record also shows Theon Wheeler was excused earlier in the session.
The council directed staff to provide additional detail on the job descriptions, the salary-grid adjustments and longer-term budget impacts at a future budget-committee discussion, and to proceed with implementation once the contract ratification and ordinance were finalized.
