Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Personnel Compensation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
St. Marys approves minimum employee pay increase and moves forward on insurance renewal
Summary
The commission approved at least a 5% increase for employees for the first pay period in 2025 earlier in the year and later set a minimum 3% (or $1/hour) increase for 2026; the commission also reviewed health-insurance renewal options with Gallagher.
Personnel compensation and benefits were recurring topics across 2025 meetings as the commission sought to balance budget constraints with staff retention.
In January the commission implemented the second half of the Arnold Group's updated 2023 recommendation: all employees would receive at least a 5% increase for 2025 effective with the first full pay period. Cordell told the commission that "there is enough in the 2025 Budget to cover the recommended increases from the Arnold Group." Later in December, after executive-session discussion and multiple insurance briefings from Gallagher, the commission approved a 2026 employee pay motion setting a minimum increase of 3% or $1 per hour — whichever was higher — effective in 2026. The commission also reviewed 2026 health-insurance renewal proposals with Brian Rose (Gallagher) and elected to keep employee dollar amounts the same by increasing the city's contribution for 2026.
Commissioners asked staff to return with detailed budget impacts and enrollment costs tied to the insurance renewal and pay changes; both salary and insurance actions were recorded in the minutes with roll-call votes where required.
