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Solid‑waste workers urge pay equity as Lancaster council outlines budget changes
Summary
At a June public hearing on the 2024–25 operating budget, Solid Waste employees told the Lancaster City Council that a proposal to give one department a large raise while most employees get a 3% cost‑of‑living adjustment is unfair; staff described grant-funded additions, one‑time adjustments for lower-paid workers and limits on recurring increases.
Greg Summers, a City of Lancaster Solid Waste employee, told the City Council at a public hearing that field crews face hazardous conditions and are frustrated that one department stands to receive a substantially larger pay increase while most city staff would receive a 3% cost‑of‑living raise. "How is it fair that one specific group ... is getting a 28.3% raise when the rest of us are going to get a 3% rise?" Summers said, adding that low wages are pushing co‑workers to leave.
Dedri Thompson, who identified herself as a coworker, echoed the concern, saying employees "feel underappreciated" and asking whether the proposed changes represent the best the council can do for front‑line staff coping with inflation and household costs.
City staff responded during the council’s presentation of changes since first reading. A finance presenter said the revised budget adds three school resource officer (SRO) positions because the police department received a grant that will cover officers, vehicles and equipment. Staff recommended converting a prior mix of COLA and merit increases into a 3% cost‑of‑living adjustment for most employees, with the fire department treated separately. The presenter described one‑time adjustments that aim to give lower‑paid employees a larger, nonrecurring boost because the city lacks recurring funds to make larger permanent increases.
Officials also described budget constraints that limit recurring raises. Staff said personnel and benefits account for roughly 70% of operations, that employer insurance costs are expected to rise substantially, and that state law and reassessment rules limit how much millage revenue the city can collect year to year. That combination, staff said, makes larger permanent raises difficult without cutting services or positions.
The presentation also included specific line‑item changes: the city signed a new cemetery burial contract that raised burial fees (noted in the presentation at about $1,500), a $50,000 repair or removal of the City Hall drive‑thru covering was added to the capital improvement program, ARPA capital projects were increased to cover several needs, and an overbid plus required utility relocations raised the cost on the Tailor Street drainage project. Staff said most of the SRO vehicles and equipment will be paid from the grant and that other increases will be funded by grant revenue or fund carryovers where allowed.
Council members thanked speakers and discussed market pressures for public safety recruitment, millage comparators with neighboring jurisdictions and the tradeoffs involved in raising recurring personnel costs. The council approved procedural motions by roll call at the start and close of the public hearing and moved to take the budget changes to a second reading and a Finance Committee follow‑up.
What happens next: council members said they expect to return to the Finance Committee and proceed to a second reading once required certifications and bid approvals are complete.
