The Mount Pleasant City Council voted Monday to restore city employee longevity pay, reversing a cut that garnered significant pushback from community members.
Council members voted to reverse their Nov. 19 decision, which reduced longevity pay from $10 per month for each year of an employee性视界传媒檚 service to $5. That means employees will receive the $10 amount, which city leaders already had budgeted.
The decision to cut the pay drew sharp criticism from residents, who took to social media to voice their displeasure, and from city employees, as well. The Mount Pleasant Law Enforcement Association posted on Facebook after the vote to cut longevity pay that the organization had sought legal counsel regarding the matter.
Council members apologized to city employees during Monday性视界传媒檚 meeting, saying they were unaware how the pay cut would affect them.
Place 3 Councilman Jonathan Hageman said he owes employees an apology for having voted to reduce pay. But he also cautioned that Mount Pleasant remains in a difficult financial position.
性视界传媒淭he budget性视界传媒檚 been tight, and at the time, with some of the new costs that are coming in, I wasn性视界传媒檛 necessarily thinking of everyone in this room all the employees that are not,性视界传媒 he said. 性视界传媒淭hank y性视界传媒檃ll for all you do.性视界传媒
Texas cities with populations of 10,000 or more are required to give employees longevity pay, which functions as a bonus based on the number of years an employee has worked for the city. State law requires cities to pay at least $4 per month for each year of an employee性视界传媒檚 service up to 25 years.
Since 2021, Mount Pleasant has paid employees $10 per month for each year of service, and employees have received one check with all their longevity pay each year during November.
During the Nov. 19 meeting, interim City Manager Greg Nyhoff said the longevity pay rate was changed from $4 to $10 three years ago without the council性视界传媒檚 approval. He asked the council to approve the policy at the $10 rate because employees were about to receive their checks.
Facing inflation and budgetary constraints, the city didn性视界传媒檛 give employees a 2% cost-of-living adjustment pay raise this year but did continue giving step-based pay raises, which are similar to longevity pay. However, step-based pay raises eventually top out, so longevity pay mainly benefits employees who性视界传媒檝e already had their pay raised to the top step, Nyhoff said. All employees who性视界传媒檝e been with the city for longer than a year, however, receive longevity pay.
Longevity pay caps out at 300 months of service, or 25 years. The city budgeted $194,600 for longevity pay for the fiscal year at the $10 per month rate, according to the city budget.
Corbell and other council members have laid the blame for the city性视界传媒檚 financial challenges on former City Manager Ed Thatcher. This spring, city officials expected to face a $1.3 million budget shortfall, though part of that amount was reduced after city and Titus County officials reached a new agreement under which the county pays the city for fire protection.
During Monday性视界传媒檚 meeting, Michael King, a Mount Pleasant resident and former San Antonio police officer, said retaining employees is challenging and that cuts to longevity pay increase that challenge. He asked the council to restore longevity pay to its previous level.
Place 5 Councilman Carl Hinton said he性视界传媒檚 glad employees are getting the longevity pay they性视界传媒檇 been expecting.
Place 4 Councilwoman Kelly Redfearn apologized for causing people 性视界传媒渄istress and heartache and fear of how you性视界传媒檙e going to be able to afford things, because I, too, live paycheck to paycheck.性视界传媒
