SPRINGDALE — The City Council discussed possible changes in the city’s 2014 budget Monday at a committee meeting, including an additional 2 percent raise for city employees.
Alderman Jim Reed suggested the raise would reduce the departure of city employees for better paying jobs.
“I’m tired of training employees for other employers,” Reed said. “We need to keep our people.”
Mayor Doug Sprouse suggested caution until revenue rises for the city.
“I want to pay our folks as much as we possibly can pay them,” Sprouse said, “but we need to see a turnaround in our revenues.”
Sprouse, in his budget for the city, proposed giving a step increase to municipal employees. Step raises are incrementally increases based on employees gaining another year’s experience to adding to their value to the city. Those who have topped out in steps would receive a $1,000 bonus, Sprouse said.
The step increases vary across the payroll according to the pay scale difference between steps. The step would cost the city about $800,000, Sprouse said. The average pay increase would be about 3.5 percent, said Laura Favorite, finance director.
An additional 2 percent raise would cost about $500,000, Sprouse said.
Mike Irwin, fire chief, said his department had lost six firefighters to other fire departments.
The police department also lost several of its officers, but many went to private business, said alderman Brad Bruns.
“Some of them got $30,000 more a year,” Bruns said. “We can’t compete with that.”
The overall city budget projects general fund revenue to be $32.16 million in 2014, with expenses of $34.57 million. Higher cost projections than income will be offset by $2 million from the Capital Improvement Program fund, according to a memo from Sprouse.
The Capital Improvement Program receives half of a 1 percent city sales tax approved by voters in 1993. The $2 million transfer from the improvement program would cut the deficit to about $400,000.
The shortfall would be made up from carryover in the general fund. That balance is projected to be $8.24 million at the end of this year, according to the budget.
Council members asked that a few corrections be made to the budget, including a $29,500 increase for the Fire Department in radio tower rentals and restoring a proposed salary increase for Judge Jeff Harper who took his raise out of his department budget. The council will look at the budget again at the next committee meeting on Nov. 18.