Politics & Government

City Council Postpones Decision on Clerk's Salary

The vote will be held when the city discusses a full budget.

A vote on whether to raise the pay grade of University City's city clerk was postponed Monday night. The council pushed a decision on the bill until a May 14 budget meeting.

The proposed ordinance, Bill 9148, was up for second read at Monday night's city council meeting. The bill would have changed the pay scale of the city clerk position from a Grade 15 to a Grade 20C.

The pay range for a Grade 15 employee is between $44,628 to $57,504. A Grade 20C pay scale ranges from $57,788 to $76,598.

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According to the bill,

Staff investigated comparable cities to determine competitive and
appropriate pay range for position of City Clerk. Found average range to be $61,874 - $74,549 among cities identified as comparable municipalities (having similar population, etc). Staff recommends, in order to pay appropriately, fairly, and competitively, adjusting the pay scale of the City Clerk to the range listed below. This would put University City in the 50th percentile, meaning 50% of the cities we identify as comparable pay more than University City, and 50% pay less than University City. 

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Before the council discussed the bill, Mayor Shelley Welsch, on the request of Third Ward Councilman Arthur Sharpe, clarified that the bill before the council was not a pay raise for a specific employee but a change of pay grade for the position.

"There has been some misinformation out there," Welsch said."This does not involve any fiscal impact to the city at this time. This is a change in range only."

Welsch added that current City Clerk Joyce Pumm had been at the top of the Grade 15 pay scale for several years.

"This gives the board the leeway to decide if a raise is in order when an evaluation of this employee is done," she said. "There is no fiscal impact at this time and may not be in the near future."

Ward 1 Councilman Stephen Kraft asked the council to postpone the vote until the council reviewed the rest of the budget information.

"I believe that we have a legislative budget session on May 14," he said. "Rather than doing this now, I ask that this be held over until then."

The council voted 4-2 to approve the postponement of the issue. Council members Lynn Ricci and Michael Glickert voted against the postponement.

There were citizens in the audience who planned to speak on the issue but declined once the board postponed the issue.

Paulette Carr, who is running for a position on the council, congratulated the council members on their vote.

"I'm extremely proud of the move you have made," she said. "I look forward to following the budget process this year."


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