St. Clairsville Council prioritizes pay scale before cost-of-living raises

ST. CLAIRSVILLE -- After roughly two hours of discussion during a special meeting Thursday evening, St. Clairsville City Council reached a consensus on a new pay scale for the city’s non-elected and nonunion employees, shifting its focus away from a proposed 3% cost-of-living increase and instead working to bring employee wages in line with the local market.

Council members agreed to establish a wage scale based on comparable pay rates in the Wheeling area using Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) codes, a federal system used to categorize occupations and compare wage data. The proposed structure would place employees within a range of 10% below to 10% above the local benchmark wage for their position.

Rather than voting on raises Thursday, council focused on creating a standardized pay structure that members said would provide consistency for future compensation decisions.

Councilwoman Audrey Brahler emphasized that the purpose of the meeting was not to approve raises but to create legislation establishing the city’s pay scales.

“We are not voting on raises right now. This was to get legislation for pay scales,” Brahler said. “This is what I wanted to see by next Monday so that we can then make the decision whether raises come. We can look at these scales for ourselves and decide whether or not we want to go for raises.”

Brahler said the proposed system is designed to ensure employees are paid fairly based on the responsibilities of their positions, regardless of past compensation decisions.

“I am under the opinion that it is, of course, not the workers’ fault what salary they make, whether they are above or below,” she said. “Those who are over, this isn’t penalizing them for being over. It’s just unfortunate that the previous council or administration made that decision, but they are not the ones I am worried about right now. If you are making what you are supposed to make for your job, then you are making what you are supposed to be making for your job, even with the current numbers and even with the current inflation rate.”

As council reviewed the proposed pay ranges, Brahler explained that the goal is to move employees toward the benchmark wage rather than simply placing them at the bottom of the allowable range.

Using the recreation director’s position as an example, she said the current salary is about $56,000 while the benchmark salary is approximately $58,000. The 10% under-over scale places the salary range from $52,000 to $64,000.

“We want everybody at least at that benchmark and not at the lower 10%,” Brahler said.

Councilman Mike Smith said the city has historically lacked a consistent method for determining employee compensation.

“I think in the past there was no method. There was always just 3% and then 3% and, at some point, you can’t do 3% and then do another 3% on top of that,” Smith said. “What the market can bear for a particular position, you can’t pay in excess of that.”

While supporting the overall framework, Councilwoman Kristi Lee Lipscomb said she believes the city should still consider a cost-of-living adjustment once the pay scale is in place.

“I agree with the benchmarks. I agree with the ranges, the scales, and I agree that if people are above their pay scales, they don’t get a raise until the scale catches up to them,” Lipscomb said. “I do disagree that there will not be any cost-of-living raise. I would be flexible with the amount, but I think there needs to be something.”

She added that the lengthy debate over employee compensation has largely been the result of delays in obtaining accurate wage information.

“This has been dragged on -- not council’s fault, not anyone’s fault. It’s just the process. The slow receiving of numbers. The slow receiving of completely different numbers. Just everything,” Lipscomb said.

Councilman Don Vincenzo said the process became more complicated after changes were made to the federal Standard Occupational Classification codes earlier this summer.

“The big problem was the change of SOC codes on June 27 when we wanted raises by July 1,” Vincenzo said. “There ended up being a big change in SOC codes, and how do you vote on a raise?”

Vincenzo said adopting a formal pay scale will provide council with a consistent standard for future compensation decisions.

“I think where we are with the benchmarks, now we just set a standard with legislation moving forward. Every year now we know what we are using,” he said. “We will rely on the state to know what the cost of living will be, and that’s what we will stick with.”

The discussion marked a significant step forward after months of debate over employee compensation. At Monday’s regular meeting, council remained divided over whether to approve a 3% across-the-board cost-of-living adjustment before establishing a standardized pay scale.

By the conclusion of Thursday’s special meeting, council members agreed that implementing the new wage scale should take priority. The proposed 3% cost-of-living adjustment will be revisited at a later date after the pay structure is formally adopted.

Brahler took the initiative to adjust the wage scales and provide that information to council members immediately following the meeting so that legislation establishing the pay scale could be drafted and brought for consideration at council’s next regular meeting.

If approved, the ordinance would create a standardized wage system for the city’s non-elected and nonunion employees while providing a framework for future compensation adjustments.