THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 13, 1994 TAG: 9407130430
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JEFF HOOTEN AND STEPHANIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Short : 50 lines
City employees will finally get their raises, but they'll have to work an extra half-hour a day.
The City Council on Tuesday approved a new ``pay for performance'' plan for its 2,300 full-time employees, at the same time increasing the work week for most salaried workers from 35 hours to 37.5 hours, effective Jan. 16.
The council also dealt a blow to top managers, who had hoped to see big money years down the road.
Instead, the maximum attainable salaries for high-ranking employees were trimmed by as much as 6 percent. The cuts affected everyone from office supervisors to Deputy City Manager Clarence Cuffee, who could have earned up to $112,667 under the original proposal.
Now, Cuffee's earning potential tops out at $105,626.
Vice Mayor Arthur L. Dwyer had argued that the city couldn't afford to allocate more funds to its top managers. City Manager James W. Rein warned that the cuts could put their wages below the market rate - the average salaries paid by similarly sized cities.
Rein's salary, set by the council, is not affected by the pay plan.
The city had already approved a 3 percent merit raise for the fiscal year 1994-95. The council on Tuesday also voted for 3 percent raises for the city attorney, city clerk and city assessor, positions which are appointed and not covered by the new plan.
Previously, the city based its raises on merit ``steps,'' each worth a 2.5 percent raise.
Employees were allowed to climb several steps in a year. But the system failed because there wasn't enough money for raises during the lean budget years, said Charles Hendricks, the consultant who created the new pay plan.
For the past three years, the city has been giving employees across-the-board raises or nothing at all.
Salary ranges now replace the step system. For each job, there is a minimum pay and a maximum, but all raises will be based on the market rate.
That means the longer you've been with the city, the smaller your raise gets. It would take most workers 15 years to get from their market rate to their maximum.
Some longtime employees have criticized the proposal, saying it boosts new employees at the expense of senior workers.
The pay plan was scheduled to go into effect July 1 and will be retroactive to that date. by CNB