Mayor Stimpson announces compensation adjustments for all City employees
Mar 29th, 2022
Posted in: Mayor
- March 29, 2022 -
For Immediate Release:
Mayor Stimpson announces compensation adjustments for all City employees
Mobile, Ala. — Please see the statement from Mayor Sandy Stimpson below, which was sent out to all City of Mobile employees earlier this morning.
"Since taking office in 2013, it has been a focus of this administration to work towards competitive wages across every department at the City of Mobile. After many years of our city employees receiving no cost-of-living adjustments or merit raises, we have been working from far behind, trying to catch up to our neighboring jurisdictions.
After six citywide raises and additional longevity and pay adjustments for our first responders over the last eight years, we still don’t believe we have achieved a competitive pay scale across all departments. Labor shortages and a rapidly changing economic environment are creating uncharted waters. As we take immediate steps to address the crisis in front of us, we are cognizant that any pay raise needs to be sustainable.
That is why after a meeting of the personnel board’s supervisory committee on January 18th, the board engaged the University of South Alabama to execute a regional compensation survey. This survey will serve as the first step toward a larger analysis. Additionally, at the request of Fire Chief Jeremy Lami, the City of Mobile will engage a third-party consultant for a more comprehensive pay analysis for all classifications in the city.
In the meantime, last week we directed the HR department to begin a study within the Mobile and Baldwin County markets to provide an initial snapshot of how we measure in comparison to our most prominent workforce competition.
Most recently, at the beginning of the fiscal year 2022, we gave a 5% cost of living adjustment to all employees citywide. Because of rising costs due to inflation, we have decided to provide another 2.5% cost of living adjustment citywide effective April 9. Following this step, we will increase our minimum entry-level wage from $11.89 an hour to $15.22 an hour effective April 23.
Additionally, for the first time in fifteen years, we are proposing a minimum of 2.5% merit raise in next year’s budget, which will go into effect during the fiscal year 2023.
As we gain new information on competitive pay, expect to see additional adjustments on specific classifications within our city departments keeping in mind the need to make decisions that are sustainable into the future in good times and bad.
I remain tremendously grateful for the hard work of all City of Mobile employees. Every city employee deserves competitive pay, and we will continue to work towards taking appropriate and fiscally responsible steps towards achieving that goal.
— Mayor Sandy Stimpson