UPDATE: Town Trustees Tuesday night unanimously approved the pay increases as proposed by the town's finance director and town manager. All town government employees (with the exception of the town manager) will see the increase on their next pay check, backdated to July 30.
Carbondale trustees hold their regular meeting Tuesday night. On the agenda? A possible mid-year pay boost for town employees.
"We have great staff who do great work for the residents of Carbondale. And we don't want to lose them," says Town Manager Lauren Gister.
She and Finance Director Renae Gustine addressed a memo to trustees asking for a 5 percent pay increase for the 32 town employees earning between $40-70k per year. The 22 town employees earning more than $70,000/annually would receive a 3 percent boost.
"The cost of food has gone up, the cost of housing has gone up, the costs of gas and service for your vehicles have gone up," Gister explains.
About half of the town government’s employees don’t live in Carbondale, and six of the town’s eight department heads live elsewhere.
"You know, it's not an easy place to live. It's a great place to live, but it's not easy," says Gister.
She says she’s optimistic that elected leaders will approve the raises, which would be effective immediately and backdated to July 30. She and Gustine are also asking trustees to approve a contract with Employer’s Council for a new salary survey updated for Fall 2022. Trustees meet Tuesday night at 6 in Town Hall on Colorado Avenue; the public can attend in person or via zoom.
For KDNK News, I'm Morgan Neely.
