03-21-11-J, WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—MARCH 21, 2011 3 Councilmember Holden stated she doesn't think the Council should be concerned with "catching-up"to Public Works employees;the comparison should be with other like cities. City Administrator Klaers stated that a survey of surrounding cities was not done at this time but the City did recently file for pay equity compliance and found that the internal balance between male dominated classes and female dominated classes has slipped. _ Mayor Grant agreed with Councilmember Holden that we should not be concerned about "catching up" and he too wondered how we compare to neighboring cities. Councilmember Tamble expressed concern that not granting an increase to non-union employees would give the appearance that the Council valued Public Works employees more. Mayor Grant stated that it comes down to "what they make for what they're doing" and in that - regard, we do need to be competitive with other cities. Councilmember Tamble stated that if the Public Works employees were non-union, then all employees would be treated the same. Councilmember Holden stated that there are some staff members who have specialized jobs and if those staff members choose to leave the City, the cost to train replacements would be higher than the proposed pay increase. Mayor Grant pointed out that staff members continue to receive step increases until they are at the top of their pay grade. Councilmember Holden stated that step increases have been suspended at times, and she added that there is no such thing as bonuses in the public sector as there is in the private sector. Councilmember Holmes commented that based on what is going on in the economy and what other cities are doing, she doesn't see how the Council could give more than a 1% increase. She added that federal employees aren't getting an increase and many businesses are not increasing pay. Councilmember Werner agreed with Councilmember Holmes. Councilmember Holden stated that since the non-union employees received no increase last year, the Council should consider giving a 1% increase effective January 1 and a 1% effective September 1. Councilmember Tamble stated that if this would be considered a cost of living increase, it should be parallel among all employees. City Administrator Klaers commented that giving some increase in 2011, after giving no adjustment in 2010, would be considered a show of faith and support for non-union employees.