Targeted personnel restorations pass after council limits some COLA/merit increases

Council President Dunphy offered an amended package (Dunphy Four) that limited cost-of-living and merit increases for non‑represented employees to permit selected restorations to public-safety and frontline administrative positions. Under the approved approach, COLA continues to apply to the first $100,000 of salary for non‑represented staff; merit increases for salary above $100,000 were limited in order to free one‑time general fund dollars to restore several filled positions scheduled for elimination.

Dunphy said the narrowly tailored change would allow the city to retain five precinct desk clerks, one police administrative specialist, a parks at‑risk youth outreach coordinator, and to allocate an additional 5% to the Office of Community Based Police Accountability to meet charter funding levels. "This would allow us to retain frontline staff who provide crucial services at our precincts and resolve some immediate staffing gaps," Dunphy said.

The measure prompted debate about fairness and compression: Mayor Wilson cautioned that pay policy should avoid creating disparities between represented and non‑represented staff and recommended an approach that treats employees equitably across the board. HR Director Ron Zito and CFO Jonas Biery outlined implementation issues and contingency risk. After deliberation the committee approved the measure; councilors signaled they will continue to pursue additional restorations in the adoption phase.