Parks seeks to raise crew-leader special pay from $0.25 to $2 an hour

Milwaukee County Parks asked the personnel committee to amend county ordinance to raise the crew-leader special-pay differential to $2 per hour, a change officials said corrects a rate that has stood at $0.25 for more than 25 years.

Peter Brett, director of operations and skilled trades for Milwaukee County Parks, told the committee the revised document simplifies a prior range and makes the rate a flat $2. "So we move from $0.25 an hour to $2 an hour," Brett said, adding the change is intended to recognize employees stepping into crew-leader duties for a shift or other temporary period. He told supervisors the department expects to manage the cost within existing operating budgets and that the classification is currently used by Parks, the Sheriff's Department and the Office of Emergency Management.

Supervisors encouraged outreach to Milwaukee Public Schools and other local partners to build a recruitment pipeline; Supervisor Cox Jones moved approval and the committee recommended adoption, 4-0.