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Council leans toward modest wage increases; staff recommends absorbing health premium rise
Summary
Council signaled support for a general wage increase between 3% and 4% (staff summarized majority at 3.5%) with targeted market adjustments and public-safety step advances; finance staff proposed the city absorb a projected $1.1M increase in medical premiums for FY26 if affordable.
Human-resources director Nicole Clark reviewed the city's compensation approach and recent steps to address compression, including a public-safety step plan implemented January 2024 and an in-house civilian market study that led to range and market adjustments in FY25.
"Our compensation philosophy is to provide competitive wage increases," Clark said, describing a plan that targets pay ranges to be within +/-3% of the regional average and uses step and market adjustments to address compression.
Council members then provided preference polling among several options for a General Wage Increase; staff summarized a majority inclination around 3.5% while retaining a 4% option.
Finance staff presented one health-insurance scenario that would absorb an estimated $1.1M increase to the city's self-insured medical plan for 2026. "We are expecting a $1,100,000 increase in medical costs for 2026," finance staff told council and recommended the city pick up the full increase if fiscally feasible.
Council did not adopt final compensation or benefits decisions during the work session; staff will model exact costs and present trade-offs with other priorities in the manager's recommended budget.
