City manager clarifies employee pay increase plan

City Manager Mike Matthes clarified his plan to pay city employees more for next fiscal year.

Matthes introduced the plan in June to pay each city worker $1,000 as a one-time raise for the budget year. The raise, Matthes said, was his attempt to combat low morale over a lack of reliable or significant raises.

The state auditor’s office said any type of “bonus” offered by the city would be illegal, according to state law.

Matthes told the Columbia City Council on Monday that the pay increase could be spread throughout the year in each worker’s paychecks. With 25 paychecks a year, the city could pay $40 extra each time. This would also mean workers would have to come to work and earn the paycheck to be able to benefit from the extra money, Matthes said.

Several city departments have been combating low morale. The Columbia Police Officers Association released a survey in 2016 that detailed its members’ problems. The local chapter of the International Association of Firefighters told ABC 17 News that lagging raises at the fire department were causing issues with retention. Matthes said pay increases have been sporadic, and those that come through are often small.

“We’ve had three years where they didn’t come,” Matthes said. “And that’s the context going into this budget year. So I worry about our great performers and what that does to their morale.”

The city manager said the Wednesday morning budget session would look deeper at the morale issue in the city, which he said governments across the country were dealing with.

The $1.1 million for the raises would come from savings in the prior year’s budget.