City employees may see pay increases

Employees of the City of Wichita Falls could see a five percent increase in their paychecks -- if city councilors agree.

The raises were included in a preliminary 2022-2023 budget presented to the City Council Tuesday.

The raises would consist of a 2.5 percent cost of living raise and a 2.5 percent merit increase. The increases may also raise the cost of benefits by two to three percent.

The recommendations from the city's staff comes on the heels of a pay study in 2021.

All city workers got a significant boost in the current budget year that consisted of a 2.5 percent merit increase, a two percent cost of living raise and additional increases as the result of a study that showed some Wichita Falls workers were poorly paid compared to other Texas municipalities. Total raises ranged from six to 10 percent.

More:Study blasts city for low worker pay

A survey shows the recommended raises are in line with nine comparable Texas cities that have set or are proposing increases. Of the nine, only Beaumont, Edinburg and Odessa are considering smaller raises.

If councilors decide to adopt the increases, they would add $3.8 million to the city's expenses.

"I know this is a hard subject to talk about to citizens, about pay. It's important to me that we maintain and don't get that far behind again," Councilor Bobby Whiteley said. 

He said just one year after the salary study, Wichita Falls is already getting behind on its pay to public safety employees.

"It's not a pretty picture. In Vernon, Texas, the starting salary for firefighters is now higher than Wichita Falls," he said.

Human Resources Director Christi Klyn said there's a lot of local competition right now for our public works employees.

"We might be able to get them (employees) in here, but we can't keep them," she said. 

Councilors are reviewing items for the upcoming fiscal year budget but won't vote on the final budget until September.