A minimum pay mandate, an adjustment to solve salary compression issues and raises for four deputy court clerks are forecast to increase Starkville’s personnel budget by almost $35,000 in the upcoming fiscal year.
Last July, aldermen voted 4-3 to tie in a minimum $10-per-hour rate for its employees to pay raises for the incoming board and mayor. On Tuesday, the board unanimously approved graduated raises – ranging from 1 to 6 percent – to push the city’s lowest full-time, benefits-receiving employees above the $10 threshold. Aldermen also increased the city’s four deputy court clerks’ salaries by 15 percent, or a combined $14,057.
Although the $10-per-hour and salary compression-solving rates do not go into effect until July 1, 2017, the mandate’s timing means the last quarter of the upcoming FY 2016-2017 budget — July through September — must be augmented to handle the raises. The raises for deputy clerks, however, become effective Oct. 1.
Employees earning up to $11.50 an hour are also included in the overall adjustment to avoid salary compression issues – when an employee on a lower pay scale would earn more than an employee on a higher grade after the adjustment.
Ward 5 Alderman and Starkville Budget and Audit Committee Chairman Scott Maynard said the city must pay an additional $18,573.25 in the last quarter of FY 2016-17 to cover the new pay scale.
In all, the adjustments are projected to affect roughly 75 employees.
A final salary compression adjustment could be made in the FY 2017-18 budget by the next board of aldermen, and Maynard said he thinks a 2-3 percent, across-the-board increase could solve any lingering compression issues.
“Financially, we can handle it. It won’t be an issue,” he said. “This barely gets us to the new minimum without having someone currently making less than you all of a sudden making more than you. There’s no leapfrogging here.”
The additional costs alone should not necessitate a tax increase, and expiring debt in FY 2017-18 could help alleviate future rate adjustments.
Requested by Starkville Municipal Court Administrator Tony Rook, the deputy court clerks’ raises will be split between the four positions — about $3,514 annually per clerk.
Rook requested an increase and also asked aldermen to consider creating an additional full-time deputy clerk position after forecasting a 14 percent increase in the number of cases the court system will handle.
The new employee and raises would help “mitigate hardship” the court system experiences due to high turnover, he said.
“We’ve lost a very large number of deputy clerks over the last several years. We’ve lost two in the last six months,” Rook said. “Exit interviews have consistently indicted two things: One, low salary compared to other positions inside the city; and two, a high and demanding work load combined with that low salary.
“We had a job open up inside the city, in another department, similar to a deputy court clerk. Seventy-five percent of our deputy clerks applied for that position, because it included a $5,000 increase in pay,” he added. “When you have a situation where three of four clerks apply for another position … because of that increase, it tells me adjustments need to be made. We have to work under the constant threat of turnover. This is a very concerning situation.”
Aldermen are expected to continue discussing specifics of the FY 2016-17 budget in the coming months. Specifically, Maynard said he would address Starkville Parks and Recreation Department line items at the next board meeting.
Aldermen should hold a public hearing on the overall city budget and the millage rate at their first meeting in September.
Maynard said he expects the board to hold a special-called meeting on Sept. 13 to adopt the city’s financial guidepost before Sept. 15’s deadline.
The upcoming fiscal year begins Oct. 1.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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