For the first time since the onset of the recession, city employees will receive pay raises.
The Columbia City Council approved a 2 percent pay increase across the board for all city employees, which went into effect this Wednesday. This has been the first pay raise the city has instituted since the beginning of the recession, City Manager Mike Matthes said.
“We are really trying to fix a number of things that became pretty big negatives in the recession,” he said. “We didn’t give raises for about five years. We did two of those five years, but they were so small it didn’t really feel like much”
During the time where the city did not raise wages, other private employers increased their wages by a margin of about 2 percent. The across the board pay raise passed by the council corrects this deficit.
“It was hard for us to hire folks because we were the lowest paying bus driver employer in Mid-Missouri,” Matthes said. “So what we are doing is moving the pay range up to meet the market.”
This type of pay increase that matches that of the market is what is called a “move to minimum.” Approximately 300 employees will receive this increase, Matthes said.
In addition the pay raises also feature a “move to mid” in an effort to address pay depression for experienced employees, specifically those who have worked for the city for more than five years. Before the new pay raises, an employee who had only just been hired earned the same amount as their more experienced peers.
“You can expect more from a fifth-year officer because they have more experience,” Matthes said. “Now with the new system, we can recognize that loyalty and experience.”
Not only will the raise benefit employees financially, it will benefit them emotionally he said.
“Well its nice to be able to finally do it,” Matthes said. “You go that many years and people start to get disheartened with their work. The nice part is that almost all of our employees are here because they love to serve other people. So (the raises) help keep them with us.”
Approximately 1,400 people are currently employed by the City of Columbia.