Committee recommends seasonal pay resolution but keeps most rates unchanged; new job titles proposed

The Finance, Budget & Personnel Committee voted to recommend the Common Council approve Payroll Resolution No. 2025-31, which updates seasonal job titles and moves several seasonal positions between pay grades without broadly increasing the pay scale.

City staff presented the recommended changes as administrative adjustments to better align titles with duties. The presenter said the packet requests moving a “pool attendant/cashier” title to “concessions-cashier” to avoid implying water‑related duties, and renaming and moving a park/cemetery/forestry technician from pay grade 20 to grade 25 to reflect where staff were already being placed.

“Again, not really any of them are, like a budgetary change per se, with wages or anything like that,” the presenter said, recommending the committee forward the payroll resolution to council with an effective date of Jan. 1, 2026.

Committee members asked whether any incumbents would receive higher pay because of the grade changes. The presenter said the overall rates remain the same, but acknowledged that a wastewater intern moved from grade 30 to grade 35 would likely represent roughly a $1-per-hour increase if that position is filled. On the cemetery/forestry technician title, staff said most workers already were being placed in the grade-25 parks technician title so the change primarily eliminates an unused title.

The committee approved the recommendation by voice vote.

The resolution also authorizes adding an ordinance intern position (a new seasonal position) subject to budget availability; staff said departments would consider budgeting for the intern if needed and that placement would depend on department priorities.

Staff said no immediate additional budget appropriation is required for the title changes, and that any positions actually filled at the higher grade would be paid from existing budgeted vacancies or by future budget actions.