By Moses Leos III
Buda city leaders are contemplating a five percent pay bump in the fiscal year 2016 budget. The first in three years, the measure would increase salaries for all city staff with the exception of the city manager.
Why now?
“We looked at our pay scale, part of the pay versus retention rate, in order to get our pay to a minimum to other cities we compete with,” City Manager Kenneth Williams said Monday.
The proposal came after Buda’s recent survey comparing its own staff salaries with Kyle, Seguin, Pflugerville, Lakeway and San Marcos. The analysis showed Buda salaries fell below the minimum average of the comparable cities.
Buda’s five percent adjustment, which the city added to its proposed $24 million budget, would help the city “catch up” to competition. According to Williams, the bump would place Buda salaries to the minimum average.
For three years, Williams said Buda couldn’t offer raises. That includes his own position, which he said was frozen during that time frame.
Employee retention has improved in recent years, according to Williams. Buda lost only one employee in 2015.
Mayor Todd Ruge said the uptick in the economy led to a market that is more conducive for switching jobs.
Remaining competitive in that environment is the ultimate goal, he said, but in a way that won’t break the bank. He said Buda didn’t want to pay the lowest, but also didn’t want, in his words, “to be trailblazers for paying the most.”
Retention, primarily avoiding the cost of training new employees, was also a consideration factor.
“Our number one asset … is our people,” Ruge said. “If we are in a position to take care of them, we should. That wasn’t always the case.”
Other factors will also weigh into the salary raise, including the updated rate for health insurance.
But is this the right time for pay raises?
According to Williams, the city will have to raise customer water rates in the near future. That increase will fund several large infrastructure projects, including the city’s partnership with the Hays Caldwell Public Utility Agency (HCPUA) for its planned 45-mile pipeline project.
Ruge believed the increases were well timed,but that the city is keeping potential water rate hikes on its radar.
“If [raising water rates now] was a major concern, we wouldn’t be proposing raises for anyone,” Ruge said. “But we are in a position fiscally where we can take care of our people at this point.”
The top 5 and bottom 5 full time salaries in Buda
Top 5
Assistant City Manager – $101,283
City Engineer – $97,329
Chief of Police – $89,103
Finance Director – $89,102
Planning Director – $85,018
Bottom 5
Parks Maintenance Worker – $27,830
Light Equipment Operator – $27,314
Circulation Coordinator Clerk – $26,998
Parks Maintenance Worker – $25,563
Parks Maintenance Worker – $25,896
