The City Council has approved raises for four management positions within the Public Works Department.City Administrator Dean Torreson said these jobs require special certification from the state. But managers often end up making less money than their employees once over-time is factored in.
“These managers are more than 40 hour a week employees,” Torreson said. “A lot of them put in 50 plus. So it’s really hard to even talk somebody from the ranks into taking these jobs if they are qualified.”
Alderman Dave Dorsett questioned the financial feasibility of raises before voting yes on the increases.
“And I do appreciate the work that all of the folks we are addressing tonight are doing, Dorsett said. “But still I feel we are on an unsustainable trajectory for employee costs.”
The city examined these salaries after learning one of the division’s managers, Daryl Phillips, will be retiring at the end of August.
Macomb found the Public Works Department director earns about $20,000 less and division managers earn between $8,000-$11,000 less compared to the average salary at about a dozen other similar size cities.
Macomb’s Public Works director will earn $76,000 annually. That’s up from $70,000.
The pay for the division’s three management positions is increasing from $60,000 to $64,000.
Torreson says Macomb doesn’t aim to provide salaries that are exactly in the middle or top of the range, but does use the salary surveys as a frame of reference.
