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Residents and power superintendent question proposed wage increases in Mount Pleasant's draft 2027 budget
Summary
Public commenters and the city's power superintendent questioned a proposed rise in wages and salaries in the draft 2027 city budget, warning that retention problems, apprenticeship pay and urgent infrastructure repairs should guide spending priorities. Budget staff clarified one consolidated police budget line and recent grant denials.
At a public hearing on the city's draft 2027 budget, residents and the city's power superintendent urged the Mount Pleasant City Council to weigh wage increases against infrastructure needs and staff retention.
A resident who reviewed the online budget said her calculations showed "an increase of approximately $224,000" in wages and salaries between the 2025 and draft 2027 budgets and noted that overall budget expenditures appeared to rise by about $73,000. She said the same money might be better spent on sewer and road repairs. "Just last year, Lynn brought up that he wanted approximately around $15,000 to do a trial road repair right down here," the resident said, arguing that small, targeted repairs had previously lacked funding.
The city's power superintendent told the council the utility has struggled to keep employees and that losing trained linemen is costly. "Losing guys is one of the hardest things," the superintendent said, describing about six departures in four years and stressing that training and experience take time and money to replace. He said line work is hazardous and that keeping experienced staff is important for reliability and safety.
Several utility workers described the apprenticeship and testing process and said competing pay in nearby jurisdictions increases turnover. One worker said a neighboring lineman earns about $53 per hour on call; with overtime formulas, that can translate into much higher pay. "We're not asking for that, but I really like to see us just hit that medium," a worker said, urging pay more competitive with surrounding employers to reduce attrition.
Budget staff clarified that some items previously broken into sublines have been consolidated. A staff member said the police budget for the North Valley/Northwell arrangement appears as a single line item labeled "Northwell Police Department," with figures shown near $910,000 for 2026 and $945,000 for 2027, an increase the staff member described as roughly $35,000.
Council and staff also discussed how merit and performance components are reflected in the proposed budget. Participants said a chart listed 0% for merit increases while other budget language and conversations had included a 6% performance component; speakers noted labor represents about 17.2% of the draft budget.
The chair moved the hearing briefly through other budget items: the library budget was presented without a proposed tax increase, and the chair said recent grant applications for a park and a splash pad had been denied, underscoring uncertainty in grant-funded projects.
The public hearing closed after callers finished comments. The city council did not take a vote at the hearing; next procedural steps or a council vote were not specified at the meeting.
