Ottumwa council approves MOU with Teamsters to set starting pay for equipment operators

The Ottumwa City Council voted unanimously to approve Resolution 154-2026, authorizing an MOU with Teamsters Local 238 to standardize starting wages for newly hired equipment operators while the city implements its compensation handbook.

Human Resource Director Kojo told the council the memorandum "establishes a consistent and equitable process for determining starting wages for newly hired equipment operators during our transition to our compensation handbook." Kojo said the purpose is to "prevent new hires from beginning at wage rates higher than existing employees within the same classification" and that new hires will follow a two-year step progression used for current employees.

Kojo said the method mirrors processes used previously with other bargaining units and that the city and union negotiated options before agreeing on this approach. In response to a council question about how current employees will be handled if a new hire's starting rate equals or exceeds existing pay, Kojo said the city examined wages projected "as of July 1 of '26" and told the council there were no current employees at the example rate cited in discussion (the transcript records the figure as "2306"). Kojo said existing employees' service-based pay gaps would be preserved under the plan.

The council took roll-call votes and adopted the resolution with affirmative votes from Council members Galloway, Hoffman, DuPray, Cabanis and Reed.

The MOU sets interim placement rules during the compensation-handbook transition; specific dollar amounts and the full text of the updated pay schedule were not read into the record at the meeting.