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Council and staff signal need for multi-year salary plan amid retention concerns
Summary
Council and staff agreed pay and retention are key budget issues: modeled adjustments to police, fire and dispatch pay would add about $140,000 and an across-the-board 3% increase would cost roughly $89,000; staff recommended a 3–4 year plan and a deeper salary study.
Councilmembers raised retention and turnover concerns repeatedly during the budget review, focusing on police and fire pay. Staff presented preliminary modeling: moving patrol and dispatch staff up one scale would cost an estimated $49,007.44, moving fire personnel (firefighters and captains) would add roughly $91,000, and an across-the-board 3% increase for all employees would cost about $89,000.
Interim City Manager Steve Norwood said a salary study and a multi-year plan were needed. He told the council, “we need to come up with a plan that's a 3 to 4 year plan so that officers, firefighters, all employees see that there's a plan,” and staff agreed to refine the numbers before the next budget meeting. Council members cautioned about compression effects and the city’s limited fiscal capacity but emphasized the need to address turnover.
