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Finance committee forwards midyear supplemental including 1% COLA and public‑safety pay adjustments
Summary
The committee forwarded a midyear supplemental appropriation to council that includes a 1% cost‑of‑living adjustment across city staff effective Dec. 1, targeted police/fire/sheriff pay‑grade adjustments, several grant‑funded purchases and a $500,000 CIP property acquisition allocation.
Winchester’s Finance Committee on Nov. 6 voted to forward a midyear supplemental appropriation to the full City Council that would authorize one‑time grants, equipment purchases and recurring pay adjustments including a 1% cost‑of‑living adjustment (COLA) effective Dec. 1.
Dan, speaking for staff, said revenue performance (notably sales and meals taxes) supports a limited COLA and several targeted salary adjustments: "I am asking for a 1% COLA across the board for all, city employees," he said, and added that some items are one‑time grant pass‑throughs while COLA and certain public‑safety adjustments are recurring and would be folded into the next budget cycle.
The packet includes roughly $100,000 for courthouse security camera upgrades (staff said the county has indicated willingness to split costs, subject to county approval), targeted grade adjustments in public safety to address turnover and a $500,000 placeholder in the capital improvement plan for property acquisition if council pursues eminent domain. Committee members asked that staff identify which supplemental line items are one‑time versus recurring in the council packet; staff agreed to add estimates and notation for recurring impacts.
Public‑safety leaders told the committee they are losing officers to higher‑paying jurisdictions and that targeted regrades and sign‑on incentives are needed to reduce turnover. The police representative said regional starting salaries can be substantially higher: "Start salary in Leesburg, for example, for a brand new officer ... is $65,000; our starting pay is $49.07," the chief said, describing the retention challenge. Fire and rescue leaders described an expected wave of retirements and supported changing the paramedic compensation back to a flat $12,000 stipend to better incentivize personnel to certify.
A committee member moved to forward the supplemental appropriation to council with a recommendation for approval; the motion carried on a voice vote recorded as unanimous. Staff will prepare the full supplemental packet — with recurring/one‑time flags and visual summaries — for the council meeting.
