Finance Committee has no recommendations on wages, benefits

As the Glencoe City Council puts on the final touches to its proposed 2015 budget, its finance committee on Wednesday afternoon discussed, but made no recommendation, on wage and benefit increases for city employees.
The discussion involved whether that salary and benefit package increase should be more in line with the county and school district’s recent increases, or something else considering city employees will be picking up a larger portion of their own health insurance expenses in 2015.
Currently $41,000 has been budgeted for the increases, according to Todd Trippel, city finance director, and that comes to about a 2 percent hike. He said every percent increase equals about $20,000. While Public Employee Retirement Association (PERA) costs are rising minimally at 0.25 percent, city health insurance costs jumped considerably. The city employees will pick up more of that cost in 2015 as a result.
City Administrator Mark Larson said city employees received 2 percent increases the past two years and increases were flat for several years before that. He said with a 2 percent increase coupled with higher employee insurance costs, “city employees are not bringing home any more dollars.”
Council Member John Schrupp said a 3 percent raise “is not out of the question.” He said the city “is doing more with fewer employees.”

For more, see the Oct. 29 print edition of The Chronicle.