Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Personnel Compensation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
North Haven Select Board debates COLA vs. merit raises as budget season nears
Summary
Select Board members reviewed staff evaluations and weighed awarding a cost‑of‑living increase (cited at 2.8%) plus merit pay. Members asked the administrator and treasurer to model several COLA scenarios and the incremental cost of proposed merit bands for the next meeting.
Board members spent a lengthy segment of the meeting discussing how to structure staff pay increases in the coming budget cycle: whether to apply a COLA, to layer merit pay on top of COLA, or to use merit alone in future years.
Administrator and board discussion centered on a cited COLA rate of 2.8% (presented during the meeting) and a proposed merit framework that would tie a modest percentage award to evaluation results. Early proposals discussed in the meeting included using COLA as a baseline (meets expectations) and adding one percentage point or more for employees with documented "exceeds expectations" ratings. Board members voiced concern about setting long‑term precedents that would commit the town to higher recurring payroll costs.
Several members requested concrete dollar estimates before making a final policy decision. The board asked the administrator and treasurer to run scenarios showing the budget impact of COLA rates (1.0%, 1.5%, 2.0%, 2.5%, 3.0%) and the incremental cost of merit additions for typical low, middle and high salary examples so members and the budget committee can weigh tradeoffs.
Board members also discussed operational fairness and staffing recruitment: the town has previously adjusted pay for underpaid roles and the new evaluation process is intended to generate clearer goal‑based merit decisions over time. Several members recommended a conservative approach this first year while the new performance assessment system matures.
Next procedural step: staff will prepare the requested cost scenarios and put the pay question on next week’s agenda so the board can review numbers before final budget decisions later in the season.
