Marble Falls council considers employee pay hike
No action was taken at the meeting.
The adjustment is expected to cost a total of $308,000, and could be implemented as early as April, city Human Resources Director Josh Smith said.
Smith said some city employees — particularly police officers — are making nearly 15 percent less than their counterparts in other area cities such as Burnet, Horseshoe Bay or Georgetown.
“Right now we’re in a position where we’re playing catch-up,” Smith said. “Our employees need to see that fairness between input and outcome.”
The city recently completed a $45,000 salary survey that began in April.
“The philosophy behind the study is to attract, retain and motivate our employees,” Smith said. The study was completed by Waters Consulting Group Inc., he added.
Surveyors examined similar jobs in different cities, measuring the base pay of each position against geographic indicators that equalized the pay specific to different areas.
“For example, the base pay of a patrol officer in Marble Falls is $36,022, while it’s $65,302 in Austin,” Smith said. “Using the (Economic Research Institute) data, we can adjust that pay to see that position should pay $57,597 adjusted geographically.”
Smith said the payscale adjustment would result in raises for about 100 of the city’s 124 employees, adding no employee would see a reduction.
The city already pays about $300,000 in attrition-related costs every four years, he added.
“In the last four years, we’ve lost 76 employees,” Smith said. “That’s 68 percent of our workforce.”
City Manager Judy Miller said exit interviews revealed that a majority of departing city employees left for offers of higher pay elsewhere, and Smith said the cost to fill those vacant positions totaled more than $300,000 during the last four years.
“That’s about the same amount as the adjustment,” Mayor Pro-Tem Mike Pilley said. “This is the one thing that I’ve wanted to do since I was asked to be on the council. If I had an agenda, this would be it.”
The council will further review where the money to pay for the adjustment will come from, and when exactly the new payscale will take effect.
Some possibilities include taking about $70,000 in money saved from the city’s health insurance policy, along with other funds from sales-tax receipts.
The council will take up the issue again in early December.
The next council meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. Nov. 24 in council chambers, 800 Third St.
chris@thepicayune.com