St. Louis civil service director announces pay changes and faster hiring; commission moves to closed session on personnel cases

St. Louis — At its July 9 meeting, the St. Louis Civil Service Commission heard an update from Director of Personnel Light on staffing reforms, including implementation of recommendations from a classification and compensation study, a citywide 3% pay increase and a reduction in time-to-hire from more than 100 days to about 45 days; the commission then voted to enter closed session to discuss personnel matters.

Director Light, marking six months in the role, said the personnel department implemented the pay ordinance tied to the Evergreen classification and compensation recommendations and completed what she described as “the 1st mile in a very long journey” toward competitive city pay. “We just implemented the pay ordinance, related to those recommendations and a 3% across the board raise,” she said.

Light credited the department’s 48-person staff and the HRIS team for managing the rollout and said work to modernize hiring processes has cut average time from application to selection to about 45 days, down from more than 100 days. “We have been improving relationships with city departments across the city,” she said, and “we have been improving our time to hire, which has gone well from, you know, over 100 days to 45 days.”

Light also told commissioners the department still faces a “large backlog of cases” and asked whether monthly meetings would be sufficient to address that work or whether the commission should consider meeting more frequently. “The question I wanna put in front of us … is whether or not meeting once a month is going to get us where we need to be in addressing these backlogs,” she said.

A commissioner asked whether a recent news item involving the mayor related to the director’s office; Light said she had not seen the story and would ask the city public information officer to pull and review it.

After the update, Chair Fluellen read statutory language cited as grounds for a closed session related to hiring, firing, discipline, promotions and individually identifiable personnel records under Missouri law. Vice Chair Daniels moved to enter closed session; a commissioner seconded. On roll call, Chair Fluellen, Vice Chair Daniels and Commissioner Martin voted yes and the motion carried. The commission then transitioned toward the closed session and discussed Zoom breakout logistics.

The commission confirmed its next regular meeting for Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026, at 10 a.m. via Zoom. The closed session was called to address the backlog and personnel items the director identified; no formal outcomes from the closed session were disclosed in open session before the commission recessed into the closed meeting.