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Smithville staff propose 4% salary increase and LAGERS retirement boost for FY2026
Summary
Assistant City Administrator Gina Pate presented FY2026 compensation recommendations including a 4% salary increase for current employees, a 2.4% CPI adjustment to the compensation plan, moving to a higher LAGERS multiplier (20%) and a $300 annual wellness stipend; staff provided fund-level budget impacts and a list of requested capital and staffing items.
Assistant City Administrator Gina Pate asked the Smithville Board on July 15 to include several compensation and benefits changes in the FY2026 budget to improve recruitment and retention.
Pate recommended a 4% salary increase for current employees, a 2.4% adjustment to the compensation plan based on CPI, and moving to a higher LAGERS retirement benefit multiplier (noted in the presentation as moving from L7 to L6, a 20% multiplier) to enhance retirement benefits. Staff presented line-item budget impacts: the salary adjustments alone were shown as a roughly $98,376 increase to the General Fund (staff also reported larger combined impacts across the Combined Water and Wastewater Fund and Public Safety Sales Tax Fund). The LAGERS enhancement was shown to have additional budget impacts across funds. Staff also proposed a $300-per-year employee wellness stipend or reimbursement program, which staff estimated would have an annual cost of about $19,200.
The Board directed staff to include the compensation adjustments (LAGERS change, 4% salary increase for non‑represented employees, and the $300 wellness reimbursement) for further consideration in the FY2026 budget. Staff also presented a prioritized list of requested capital and staffing items—GIS/IT tech, building and facilities manager, mini excavator, mower and other equipment—with aggregate costs listed in the staff packet; the Board moved several items to "unfunded," including GPS/snowplow tracking, PCI software, a financial-transparency platform and parks maintenance updates.
Staff said the FY2026 budget process will continue with further discussions in August and September and readings in October.
