Chattanooga City Council -- May 6, 2008	- Download MP3-

The Chattanooga City Council on Tuesday night effectively approved the city’s new pay plan, meaning scores of municipal employees will see pay raises in their checks on Thursday.

The vote, to amend the current fiscal-year budget to allow for the salary increases, was 6-0 in the second and final reading, with Councilman Leamon Pierce and Councilwoman Debbie Gaines both abstaining. Councilwoman Carol Berz was absent from the nine-member council’s meeting.

Mr. Pierce expressed concern about police technicians being shifted to the meter patrol officer job classification.

“I wouldn’t be able to support this until I know for a fact that all of this has been ironed out,” he said before the vote.

But Councilman Manny Rico said the council needed to go ahead and approve the pay plan. He said that issues such as these can be fixed, noting that is the reason there is an appeals board to hear employee complaints about their job classifications.

“I don’t think we can wait for these people to get their raises,” he said.

The base salary increases will be applied retroactively, as of Jan. 4. In addition to the hikes in base salary, employees who have worked with the city for five or more straight years will get a longevity pay bonus.

Not all city employees will get a base salary raise, but no one will have their pay reduced, officials have said.

This pay plan is designed to get city employees to more competitive pay levels compared to peer markets.

Sworn police department and fire department employees will receive the majority of the almost $4 million it will take to fund the new pay plan each year, according to the city.

A four-member appeals panel will hear only from workers who wish to contest their new job classifications, city Chief Financial Officer Daisy Madison said Tuesday.

Sgt. Brenda Hafley, with the Chattanooga Police Department, spoke to the City Council about her concerns with the pay plan Tuesday night. She said after the meeting that she was worried about employees getting placed in the wrong job classification “to where they can’t be moved up into the proper pay rate.”

Sgt. Hafley said her concerns were addressed by city personnel officer Donna Kelley on Tuesday night.

Sue Wright, who has been a police service technician senior and is slated to be a meter patrol officer under the new pay plan, said that her new job classification does not make sense. She said she works in Hixson, but there are no meters there.

“We don’t want to be classified as meter patrol officers when we don’t write meter tickets,” she said after the meeting.

Meanwhile, Ms. Wright said she is frustrated that there is simply a three-day appeals process for employees.

“I don’t think it’s fair to a lot of people,” she said.