City council delays vote on a bill to raise city employees’ pay in Jefferson City

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

The city council delayed a vote on raises for employees of Jefferson City.

The council pushed back the vote at last night's meeting because of concerns that the bill's sponsor, council member Erin Wiseman, was absent.

The council set a work session for Monday at 5:30 p.m. in council chambers. The work session is open to the public and will also be streamed online.

Officials say the 5 percent raise would impact more than 300 Jefferson City employees. Police officers are not covered in the bill due to being covered by the Fraternal Order of Police and its labor agreement with the city.

The push comes after the State of Missouri, the City of Columbia, and Cole County approved similar raises for their employees to address inflation.

Data from the Consumer Price Index shows that inflation is up by about 8% compared to this time last year.

City Administrator Steve Crowell says the city will use money from this year's savings to pay for the raises.

Mayor Carrie Tergin says it's important that the city stays competitive with wages to "keep the best employees possible so that we can provide the best service to the citizens of Jefferson City."

Crowell also says the city is working with a consultant to research wages more before the start of the next fiscal year in November. Council member Erin Wiseman said in an email the study will help correct salary compression and the pay scale.