THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, May 12, 1995 TAG: 9505110140
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TONI WHITT, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
The City Council voted 5-1 to approve a new pay plan Tuesday for city employees. The plan is a first step toward a new system of pay-for-performance. The vote means that only a handful of employees - those making less than the minimum salaries based on their job descriptions - will receive raises this year.
The new pay plan sets all salaries based on the market in this region.
Every city job is rated on a point scale. The more points a job is worth, the higher it is rated. There are 32 rates or grades, all of which have a minimum, midpoint and maximum salary.
The council set aside $300,000 to bring all employees up to the minimum salary this year. There were about 300 of 1,600 employees who were earning below the minimum. The council plans to set aside another $500,000 next year to move employees toward the midpoint range of their salary.
Only one employee complained about the raises during the council session. Lloyd Beazley, president of the Portsmouth firefighters' union, said he thought everyone would get a raise. He said the pay ranges were not comparable with those in Chesapeake, which he said were much higher.
Beazley also complained that since the city got rid of its lucrative retirement plan for police and firefighters, Portsmouth now has nothing to attract prospective officers.
Vice Mayor Johnny M. Clemons voted against the new plan, saying that he wasn't convinced the pay was equal to that of other cities here. Councilman P. Ward Robinett was absent.
Councilman James T. Martin said he was also concerned that the salary ranges were low and that the city was going to have to ``catch up'' with the market later. He voted to approve the plan but asked that the city do its own comparison on the pay ranges.
The city has a contract with the consultants, who put together the market study, to update the pay ranges every five years.
The new plan also takes away several allowances, including supplements for cars, that city employees have been getting. The current allowances will be included as part of employees' salaries.
Police and firefighters will continue to receive allowances for uniforms, hand guns and training. Any officer who has completed training as an emergency medical technician also receives an allowance of an additional $70 a month. ILLUSTRATION: AT A GLANCE
Full-time city employees: 1,683
Number that require a raise to minimum salary based on new plan:
294 (147 are public safety jobs)
Number whose salaries exceed the maximum salary based on new
plan: 87
Number of persons and current salary range of those receiving
increases:
Earnings: Number of Employees:
Less than $20,000 118
Between $20,000 and $30,000 174 (122 are public safety
personnel)
Between $30,000 and $40,000 2
Between $40,000 and $50,000 0
Increases range from $36 to $9,100
KEYWORDS: PORTSMOUTH CITY COUNCIL SALARIES by CNB