City of Boise employees will get a wage bump this summer. How much will it be?
City of Boise employees will get significant raises for at least three months this year as the city deals with the effects of high inflation and a tight labor market.
But while the compensation increases will come out of the city budget, they will not require the appropriation of additional funds because of the number of vacancies within the city’s staff.
The City Council approved a base pay adjustment of 5.9% for all city employees from July 1 of this year through the end of September, when fiscal year 2023 will begin. The move was approved by the council unanimously at a work session Tuesday afternoon; Council President Elaine Clegg was not present.
The city’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2023, which beings on Oct. 1, would sustain that pay adjustment. The full proposed budget will be released on June 17.
While the increased wages for non-contract employees will cost the city around $1 million, the number of vacancies among city employees means that no additional money needs to be appropriated to cover the cost of higher wages, according to an agenda packet for Tuesday’s meeting.
At the work session, Mayor Lauren McLean said she wanted to implement the higher wages to help city employees struggling with the nation’s inflation rate, which has been as high as 8.5% in recent months.
“This is all in that pursuit of supporting, growing and celebrating our existing workforce,” McLean said.
“We have to acknowledge the cost-of-living increases that we’ve experienced,” she added. “Rather than making them wait for the raise when we have the funds on hand, I’m proposing that we do this now.”
The council also approved raising the city’s minimum wage from $13.53 to $16.15 for permanent, noncontract staff members who work more than 20 hours a week. The changes will go in effect for July, August and September. Those employees who receive the 5.9% wage increase and who are still below the new minimum will be bumped up, according to the agenda packet.
City Council Member Luci Willits said she supported the motion because of high inflation, but added that she had concerns about what the implications of a new wage floor will be on future budgeting.
“We have to do whatever we can to preserve our employees,” she said. “I do have concerns that ... it does create a table that’s already set for us in some ways. But I think given where we are, we need to do this.”
On Tuesday, the council also moved to make adjustments to the city’s Human Resources Department, adding seven new positions whose salaries for the remainder of the 2022 fiscal year will also be covered by vacancies. The new positions will also be included in next fiscal year’s budget, according to the agenda packet.
Clegg, who was not present at Tuesday’s meeting, was scheduled to testify Wednesday in Washington, D.C. before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, according to a news release.
This story was originally published June 7, 2022 at 9:05 PM.
