Employee pay raises. Budget pressures.
Balancing those two issues was the focus of Longview City Manager Rolin McPhee性视界传媒檚 discussion during a recent budget work session with the City Council.
That discussion included what he said is a need for employee raises and a possible tax rate increase that could be used to pay for those raises. The mayor and council had said raises were a priority during 2024-25 budget discussions. Those raises would have required a tax rate increase and were not enacted.
This year, McPhee is recommending a 6.5% raise plus $500 per employee. That would cost the city $4.4 million, with increases of 2% to 9% costing $1.3 million to $5.2 million.
The current tax rate is 56.19 cents per $100 valuation, with each cent on the property tax rate producing about $800,000 in revenue. That means the tax rate would increase by about 5 cents with the 6.5% raises.
McPhee said the raise would put the city more in line with the City Council policy of paying withing 95% of the market.
As McPhee began budget discussions, he reminded the mayor and six council members what they were really talking about.
The money and dollars represent 性视界传媒減eople doing and providing services to the citizens, services that we frankly provide very well, and that is what these numbers are about.性视界传媒
Sixty-eight percent of the city性视界传媒檚 budget is personnel costs, he said.
性视界传媒淚 would like us to keep that in mind as we talk about about a difficult subject like the budget,性视界传媒 McPhee said.
Planning for the next budget year is taking place during 性视界传媒渆xtraordinary times,性视界传媒 he said.
McPhee said the state of Texas and federal decisions are limiting cities性视界传媒 funding.
性视界传媒淲e have been on an eight-year slog,性视界传媒 he said
The state, for instance, has limited cities性视界传媒 ability to annex land and lowered the rate of a tax increase that requires voter approval. In the 2027-28 budget year, the city expects to lose $1.6 million in revenues because of an increase in the exemptions for business personal property tax that McPhee said voters will likely approve in the fall.
Texas is the eighth-largest economy in the world but ranks 47th in funding for municipal services, he said.
性视界传媒淟ast year性视界传媒檚 budget remained flat, despite rising external costs,性视界传媒 including power costs that have increased 16% in the past four years, he said.
Revenues also have been flat, for the past decade, McPhee added.
At the same time, overall employee pay is 14% behind where it should, excluding police and fire, in comparison with other similar cities. Police and fire pay is compared with the city of Tyler.
性视界传媒淚t creates challenges in recruitment and retention,性视界传媒 McPhee said.
The city has a great culture, he said, which is part of the reason why people choose to work in certain places.
性视界传媒淏ut culture doesn性视界传媒檛 pay the bills,性视界传媒 he said.
Information the city provided said almost half of employees who leave cite salary as the reason.
Internal budget discussions began months ago and have included flat departmental budget proposals as well as city management性视界传媒檚 request that departments provide options for cutting 4%, 7% and 10% of their budgets.
McPhee said all proposed cuts that didn性视界传媒檛 cut services were approved. Those have included eliminating nine vacant employee positions; reducing the number of fleet vehicles by eight across departments; cutting many cable contracts for city facilities; and extending the technology replacement schedule.
Information he provided showed the city needs $4.2 million to pay for raises when cost savings are factored in.
No action was planned on the budget during the work session, but budget discussions will continue., with council members saying roads and drainage projects are among their budget priorities.
性视界传媒淲e性视界传媒檝e got to balance taking care of people and making sure we don性视界传媒檛 overextend our taxes,性视界传媒 said District 1 Councilman Derrick Conley.
