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Alpine council reviews wage study, debates a 5% staff pay increase
Summary
At a June 30 work session, Alpine councilors reviewed a wage-and-benefits study and debated a proposed 5% across‑the‑board raise versus a mayor’s 4.2% COLA with a 0.8% performance pool, calling for clearer peer comparisons and benefits cost analysis before approving changes.
The Alpine City Council used a June 30 work session to scrutinize a new wage study and early proposals for staff raises, with council members urging more complete data before approving any change. Mayor opened the session by describing a compromise proposal of a 4.2% cost‑of‑living adjustment and a 0.8% pool for performance bonuses, explaining the numbers were based on the last 12‑month consumer price index and staff recommendations.
Council members pressed staff for clearer methodology and flagged an apparent data error in the benchmarking tool used for comparisons with Cedar Hills. "They put the number in wrong," a council member said of the TechNet input, calling the discrepancy clerical and asking staff to provide corrected figures before a final decision. Members also noted the mayor’s survey of nine peer cities showed an average increase of about 4.55%, and pointed out state employees were approved for a 2.5% raise — underscoring variation across comparators.
Many councilors said they favored a hybrid approach that balances a base COLA with targeted equity adjustments. One member summarized the tradeoffs: "Maybe we call a partial COLA across the board and give our management some discretion for the non‑executive employees to decide where we need to be more equitable," the councilor said. The session ended with requests for an earlier, more detailed packet, clearer breakdowns of benefits impacts, and staff recommendations ahead of any formal vote.
