Consulting group recommends changes following Jefferson City compensation study

Some Jefferson City employees may be getting a raise.

ABC 17 News reported Monday, a compensation study’s findings were presented to the mayor and city council.

Tuesday, ABC 17 dug into the nearly 120 page report from the Austin Peters Group.

The group has been working with Jefferson City employees for the past six months to define job descriptions and compare salaries to similar communities across the state.

If the council adopts the group’s plan presented Monday, City Administrator Steve Crowell said the changes would cost nearly $1.3 million.

But the city has already made some adjustments since its fiscal year started at the beginning of November.

“There’s already $575,000 budgeted in this year’s budget already to account for some of that,” Crowell said. “And then employees’, also, ranges were adjusted this year by 2 percent.”

The group recommended a 2 percent raise to the more than 400 city employees. Workers started seeing that in paychecks this month.

Another recommendation included changing the minimum pay range fro some positions, would would boost pay for nearly 140 employees.

A third recommendation was to give an increase to experienced workers who are being paid the same, or close to, new employees with less experience. That would impact more than 250 employees.

“We want to make sure that we’re able to certainly recognize our quality employees and be able to retain and recruit employees as well,” Crowell said. “And so, that pay plan will help us do that.”

The Austin Peters Group also recommended increasing vacation and sick leave for city employees in the future.

The final recommendation to city council may still change as the consultant was set to meet with employees Tuesday and Wednesday to get feedback.

The council will likely vote on the recommended changes and the effective date in December, according to Crowell.