Pay Raises, Main Street Improvements on Joplin City Council’s Agenda

JOPLIN, MO– The City Council will hold a special work session at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 26, to continue discussions on the city's employee pay plan and how it fits into the approved budget. The session will allow council members to discuss the proposal further and vote on it.

At the council's last regular meeting, several ordinances were considered on an expedited, or one-vote, basis. The overall city budget was approved, along with other budget-related measures. However, the employee pay plan failed to receive the six votes required for expedited passage.

The pay plan is scheduled to take effect Nov. 1, prompting the request for expedited approval.

Mayor O'Brian said the council will have another opportunity to discuss the plan and determine whether to approve it during Monday's session or delay action until the next regular meeting, which would take place after the planned effective date.

"And so that's why it was requested to be expedited. So what we're going to do is take it up again, have further discussion. If the council sees fit, we can pass it tonight or we can move it out to the next regular meeting. But that is after November 1st," Mayor O'Brian said.

The proposed pay plan primarily addresses city employees outside the police and fire departments, but it also includes some public safety employees whose salaries are paid through the general fund.

O'Brian explained that previous voter-approved funding measures, including the public safety sales tax and a pension-related proposition approved in April. These affect how the city funds police and firefighter compensation.

Under the pension measure, once the pension reaches 120% funding, additional revenue can be redirected to support police and firefighter pay. City officials anticipate reaching that threshold around the beginning of the calendar year.

That change is expected to allow police officers and firefighters to receive pay increases of approximately 23%. The proposed budget includes a 12% increase for general employees, made possible in part by shifting some public safety personnel to the new revenue stream.

The remaining question for council members is whether the proposed increase is appropriate and whether the pay plan adequately accounts for differences in employee pay.

"The general employees number that was put into the budget for them was a 12% increase," O'Brian said.

He explained that council members have discussed whether the proposed structure could create pay compression, a situation in which differences in compensation between employees become smaller despite differences in seniority, experience or position.

The discussion could lead to adjustments to the overall pay plan.

O'Brian emphasized that the proposal is not intended to leave any city employees without a raise.

"In particular, again, I want to emphasize that no one is not getting a raise in this," O'Brian said, adding that the council needs to address the remaining details of the compensation plan.

Main Street Streetscaping Public Hearing Scheduled Tuesday

In addition to the pay plan discussion, residents will have an opportunity Tuesday to review proposed improvements to Main Street during a public hearing at City Hall.

The come-and-go public hearing is scheduled for 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27, on the fifth floor of City Hall. Residents can review the proposed designs for improvements along Main Street between 8th and 15th street and offer feedback and suggestions.

O'Brian said the project is intended to fill a gap between previously completed streetscape improvements in downtown and areas farther south.

"Over the years, the city has put a lot of effort into Main Street," O'Brian said. The city has invested in improvements from 1st through 8th streets. Following tornado damage, additional improvements were made farther south, from around 15th Street to 32nd Street. Those projects included new sidewalks, landscaping, streetlights and benches."

"What we're left with was this kind of hole in the donut from 8th to 15th Street," O'Brian said, describing the stretch that remains between the improved areas.

The city has been working on a plan to address that gap, including improvements around the railroad crossing at 10th Street. Federal funding is available to help support the project.

"The city has been working on a plan to address that area across the railroad tracks at 10th Street, clean up that area and kind of blend Main Street together so we don't have this gap in there," O'Brian said.

Residents attending Tuesday's hearing will be able to view the designs and provide input before the final plans are completed. Once the design work is finalized, the project is expected to go out for bids, with construction anticipated next year.