Members of the Plymouth Common Council considered the 2022 Salary Ordinance on third reading Monday evening.
While next year’s salary ordinance includes a 3% raise for all city employees except the HR Director and Airport Manager who are set to receive a 5% increase to bring their salaries more in line with other department heads, there was another request for an increase.
Utility Superintendent Donnie Davidson sent members a detailed proposal explaining why he was seeking additional salary increases for many of his employees. Davidson said he is having issues retaining and recruiting employees due to the nature of the work. He said competing with other employers who offer equal pay or even more it’s hard to complete.
The positions are technical, and many require certifications. Donnie said his employees take on other projects which are generally outside of their normal scope of work to save the city money. This requires them to do more work than their regular duties with very little rewards.
Davidson said he wanted to add $2 an hour to laborer’s, maintenance employees, the city’s GIS Operator and supervisors in both the Water Department and Wastewater Department on top of the 3% raise in the budget for 2022. He said the total additional cost would be about $46,000 in the Sewer Department and $33,000 in the Water Department over the 3% increase.
Davidson reminded council members that both the Water Department and Wastewater operate without any General Fund monies, basically making them independent. Checking with the city’s financial consultants shows the departments could handle this additional wage increase cost.
The Plymouth City Council approved the request to amend the 2022 salary ordinance to include the additional wages requested by Davidson and third reading of the 2022 Salary Ordinance with a 4 to 0 yes vote with three members absent from the meeting.
