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Council approves 4.1% COLA for city officials and employees
Summary
The City Council approved Resolution 9-26, adopting a 4.1% cost-of-living increase for city officials and employees after committee review and discussion of rising health plan costs.
The City Council voted to approve Resolution 9-26, adopting a 4.1% cost-of-living adjustment for city officials and employees. Council member Carlene Martin moved the measure; a fellow councilor seconded the motion and the council approved it during the meeting.
Council members said the resolution followed the compensation committee's recommendation to mirror the federal COLA. "It was based off of their recommendations to just do the basic cost of living increase to follow what the COLA was," the Chair said during the introduction of the resolution. A council member stressed the impact of benefit changes on employees: "Health insurance did a drastic change this year," the member said, noting deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums rose substantially and that increase should be considered when setting pay adjustments.
Staff noted the city remains self-insured with Allegiance managing plans and that premiums rose modestly while employee out-of-pocket exposure increased. Council members said they will reserve a budget slot for staffing changes and plan budget amendments in September as needed to close the fiscal year.
The transcript did not include a full roll-call record for the COLA vote; the minutes should contain the official tally. The council will implement the adjustment as described in Resolution 9-26 and reflect associated budget amendments during the September budget process.
