City Oks $76,000 In Raises Mayor Talbott, Councilwoman Rodgers Vote Against Pay Increases For 18

Eighteen of the city’s top employees will be collecting a total of $76,000 in raises and additional benefits this year.

City Council members approved the raises, which cover a two-year period, during the Monday council meeting.

The raises are for top managers, executive staff, police and fire chiefs not represented by bargaining units.

Mayor John Talbott and Cherie Rodgers voted against the increases.

The raises are based on merit, using the pay increases negotiated by represented employees as a baseline. The city manager performs the job reviews.

The 1998 salary increases averaged 2.9 percent, while the 1999 increases will average about 2 percent.

The city manager’s own review is being done by the City Council and isn’t finished yet.

The deputy city manager’s annual salary was increased $4,009 to $95,777.

The city’s six top police and fire officers received increases to move their salaries ahead of lower-ranked officers whose pay was catching up.

“People lower in rank might be making more than the assistant chief above them,” said Pupo.

A percentage formula was used based on the average pay of the officers below the one getting the raise. The result was bigger raises for uniformed managers than those received by some other managers.

The fire chief’s annual salary was increased by $4,489 to $91,705. The police chief’s annual salary was increased by $5,116 to $92,123.