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Sunset Beach council narrows pay plan after public and council pushback on rising personnel costs
Summary
At a May 14 budget workshop the Town of Sunset Beach heard sustained public concern about fast‑rising personnel costs and reached preliminary council direction to set a 2.5% cost‑of‑living adjustment, allow up to 4% merit increases, replace proposed longevity payouts with a $500 holiday bonus, and pause the STEP program pending redesign and staff follow‑up.
Sunset Beach — The Town of Sunset Beach’s May 14 budget workshop centered on growing personnel costs and whether the council should proceed with a recently proposed ‘‘STEP’’ pay program and one‑time longevity payouts.
Residents and taxpayer advocates used the public‑comment period to press the council to slow compensation growth and protect money for infrastructure. “Compensation now consumes 2/3 of the total town expenditures,” resident Tony Marino said, urging the council to address a multi‑year trend he presented as unsustainable. Mark Kramer, vice president of the Sunset Beach Taxpayers Association, called for greater transparency and publication of underlying budget documents before approval.
Council members responded by walking through detailed personnel figures staff supplied this week. Staff reported an estimated COLA (cost‑of‑living adjustment) cost of $139,133 and a merit pool of $111,306; proposed one‑time STEP payouts totaled $124,912 and longevity payments $70,778. Council members said those combined increases would sharply constrain capital spending for roads, stormwater and dredging.
After extensive discussion the council gave staff direction intended to lower the immediate payroll pressure while preserving some pay increases: set a 2.5% COLA (applied to base pay), permit merit increases of up to 4% tied to performance and eligibility, and replace the proposed longevity one‑time payouts with a uniform $500 holiday bonus for employees who meet the town’s minimum service requirement. Council also instructed staff to pause or rework the STEP program and return with alternative scenarios for consideration.
Police and fire supervisors defended the original STEP design as a recruitment and retention tool for public‑safety positions that face regional wage competition. “We created this salary step program knowing that the first year was going to be costly,” one department head said, urging the council to consider the retention benefits of targeted pay steps.
Council members emphasized equity concerns: several staff estimates showed large, double‑digit increases for a subset of employees while others — including many long‑serving staff — would see smaller percentage gains. Council direction aims to maintain modest across‑the‑board increases while giving department heads discretion under the merit process and asking staff to develop a revised, more affordable longevity/STEP structure.
Next steps: staff will rework the FY27 budget documents to reflect the council’s directions and return with final numbers and a proposed public‑hearing schedule. The council set a follow‑up meeting for next Thursday and requested one‑page summaries showing what proposed road and stormwater allocations would buy.
The town council did not adopt a final budget at the workshop; the revised packages will go to public hearings before any appropriation is approved.
