Pay increases expected for city workers

Most city employees are expected to receive a pay raise once the 2024-2025 budget is finalized in the coming weeks.

Last week, the Mayor and Board of Aldermen held two meetings with department heads from Building and Permits, the Street Department, Police, Fire, Sanitation, Cemetery, Animal Control, and Municipal Court to discuss budgetary needs and departmental requests.

As the proposed budget currently stands, all departments, except the police, are slated to receive a $1-per-hour across-the-board payraise. 

Meanwhile, the police department is considering a restructuring of its rank system and pay scale to be more competitive. 

“One thing we have a problem with is hiring and retaining officers,” said Police Chief Eric Lyons. “I’ve got guys right now wanting to come work here, but they can’t leave where they are at because of where our starting pay is.”

Lyons also noted that under the current rank system, officers with 15 to 20 years of experience cannot be hired beyond the rank of staff sergeant.

Lyons proposed that once the police department reaches its staff goal of 27 officers, some will be tasked with serving over 4,000 outstanding warrants. This initiative could potentially generate over half a million dollars in revenue, officials said. 

Additionally, the aldermen decided to keep the millage rate the same for the upcoming fiscal year. While the 2024-2025 budget has yet to be officially approved, a public hearing will be scheduled before the budget is finalized.