A town worker in Carrboro be making around 10 percent less than a municipal worker in a similar position and pay range elsewhere in North Carolina.
On Tuesday night, the Carrboro town council heard the conclusions reached by a study conducted with Carrboro staff of salaries across its 163 individual positions and 91 different job titles.
Among its recommendations are a 2 percent raise across the board, and a raise to workers in the minimum salary range. Additionally, longtime workers could receive a raise based on the length of employment with the town.
If adopted by the town council, the updates would equal a nearly 5 percent increase in total payroll.
Councilmember Randy Haven-O’Donnell said issues over pay have been a longstanding concern among staff, and they were glad the town was taking steps to address it.
“I know that the question about classification and compensation has been a long haul,” they said “And I think for many staff over the years its been frustrating.”
After the presentation of the report, members of the town council agreed to submit any lingering questions to Town Manager Richard White.
The study was conducted by Management Advisory Group which has worked in the past with municipal entities across North Carolina, including the City of Asheville and Chatham and Durham counties. The group is providing Carrboro with software to help keep salaries competitive over yearly changes and inflation down the road.
One reason Carrboro needs to offer attractive salaries is because of competition from a high number of nearby municipalities, councilmember and Mayor Pro Temp Susan Romaine said.
“Maybe the best thing we can do in terms of have a stable staff is to be providing compensation necessary so that their not jumping, as you said, we don’t have Carrboro to be the training ground where we bring in staff and train and then they are jumping around to these other nearby jurisdictions.”
Director of Human Resources Julie Eckenrode said she is seeing a trend of emergency service workers leaving Carrboro for other municipalities with better pay.
Carrboro Mayor Damon Seils said the council will consider whether to implement the raises at its next meeting on Tuesday, September 20th.
“It’s an exciting opportunity for us to make good on what we’ve been talking about a lot over the past, especially as we begin implementing the [town’s comprehensive plan,] which is to make sure we have adequately prepared and resourced our staff to do the big job we are asking them to do,” the mayor said. “So this is an important step for us to take.”
Photo via the Town of Carrboro Recreation, Parks, & Cultural Resources Department.
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