All Starkville firefighters will receive at least $10 per hour for their services beginning April 1, 2017, after aldermen approved new skills and pay grade progression plans Tuesday for the city’s fire, sanitation, street and water departments.
Aldermen previously mandated a $10-per-hour minimum pay scale for all city workers beginning next July, but Tuesday’s action pushes up the implementation of SFD’s new pay scale by setting the minimum for entry-level firefighters.
While the new progression plans for the sanitation, street and water departments are effective Oct. 1 — the start of Fiscal Year 2016-17 — the lowest-paid salary grade within those areas won’t see their salaries adjusted until July 1, 2017. Those entry-level workers, however, may move to the next salary grade — a minimum of $10.25 per hour — by completing training and demonstrating effectiveness at their jobs.
The adjustment for SFD, which includes the lion’s share of city employees earning below $10 per hour, will require about $50,000 in additional funding next fiscal year for the six-month funding window, while the city’s draft of the FY ’17 budget already builds in a combined $140,000 for the other three departments’ year-long adjustment.
Sanitation and water rates will not increase due to the salary adjustment.
Ward 5 Alderman Scott Maynard, who also serves as the city’s budget committee chairman, said it would have been difficult to find an additional $100,000 in the upcoming fiscal year to fund the SFD adjustment on Oct. 1.
“In staring down the $100,000 mark, I knew there was no way we could do that. I went back and forth … but now that it’s in there, it’s in there,” he said during the meeting. “(Implementing $10-per-hour minimum pay has) been a long time coming for you guys. I appreciate all the firemen that reached out to us.”
In August, the city reported 23 firefighters make less than $10 per hour, while 10 sanitation workers, five street department employees and seven members of the water department earn below the minimum threshold.
The plans not only set new pay scales for workers, but also define necessary requirements for advancement — obtaining a commercial driver’s license, department-specific training and completion of WorkKeys testing at a Bronze level, for example — within Starkville’s ranks.
Mayor Parker Wiseman said the incentives will help attract new workers for entry-level positions and create a pool of internal applicants ready to move to supervisory roles once they’re open.
“As the economy has picked up locally, we are hemorrhaging skills in our workforce. It’s because our most-skilled workers are finding opportunities at higher pay with private sector work. Additionally, we’re having major issues filling positions requiring the most skilled and most experienced in our organization,” he said. “We’re getting the pay into a position where (Starkville) is competing in the market. Ideally from the time we hire someone, they should be furthering their skills.”
Aldermen approved the salary and progression plans unanimously in two separate motions.
The board also authorized Mississippi State University’s Stennis Institute of Government to perform a staff and salary study of comparable municipalities. The report is expected to cost $8,250.
Wal-Mart TIF
Aldermen also determined the upcoming Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market project in east Starkville is eligible for a tax increment financing plan and scheduled a public hearing on the proposed 15-year, $1.5 million-maximum ask for Sept. 20.
The developer, Wal-Mart Stores East LP, is asking the city to divert 100 percent of ad valorem and 50 percent of sales taxes to help fund service debt on bonds, which in turn will help construct an access road and signalization on Highway 12.
Oktibbeha County supervisors approved a similar request Tuesday. The developer is asking the county divert 50 percent of its ad valorem receipts toward debt service.
The project is expected to create 95 jobs, with an annual payroll estimated at $2 million.
A report by Gouras and Associates also projects the store to generate $20 million in annual sales and increase annual property tax receipts $134,000.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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