Boulder City council approves 6% merit raise for city clerk after annual review

Tammy McKay, Boulder City’s city clerk, received a 6% merit increase after the City Council completed her annual performance evaluation and voted unanimously to approve Resolution 79‑40.

McKay opened the special meeting with a detailed presentation of the clerk’s office work over the past year, saying the office completed records audits, revised retention schedules and is migrating the LaserFISH document management system to a cloud platform—an upgrade staff estimates could save about $31,200 annually. She reported the office processed 442 public‑records requests from across the city, reviewed historical minute files, indexed tens of thousands of microfilm images and processed 210 passports in 2024, generating $10,025 in fees. McKay also summarized elections work: she reported 12,228 registered voters in Boulder City, 4,339 primary ballots and 10,272 general election ballots, and noted that a ballot question to expend up to $9 million from the capital improvement fund for a swimming pool passed.

The council recessed briefly to compile evaluation scores; acting City Manager Michael Mace reported an average council score of 4.78. Staff noted the proposed base salary under the resolution is $157,013.48 and explained that PERS (the public employee retirement system) changes would be split roughly between the city and employee, with the employee’s share around 1.6 percentage points of the total benefit increase. Council members asked about the salary range (reported from HR as roughly $130,000 to $191,681), how COLA (cost of living adjustments) apply, and whether merit caps exist (staff reported no current cap on merit increases).

Council members debated the percentage amount at length. One member suggested a 5% starting point; others argued for higher amounts to retain strong performers. Finance staff cautioned that revenue growth is limited and provided a 7.5% example—showing that scale’s estimated fiscal impact (roughly $168,789.49 in annual salary). Several councilors emphasized equity with bargaining unit employees and the ripple effects of larger raises across the budget. After discussion, a motion to approve a 6% merit increase carried unanimously. Mayor (presiding) declared the vote unanimous: “it is unanimous the 6% merit increase.”

Resolution 79‑40, as adopted, increases McKay’s base salary by 6% effective per the resolution’s terms; COLA adjustments remain a separate contractual matter. The council then moved to a separate evaluation for the city attorney.

The council’s deliberations combined performance metrics, budget constraints and retention concerns; finance staff noted merit budgeting historically assumed 2–3% for the clerk’s position, and members agreed the chosen percentage reflects both recognition of McKay’s performance and caution about city‑wide compensation impacts.