Council adopts longevity pay for police supervisors and a citywide benefits policy

The Boone City Council approved two resolutions brought forward by the Policy Administration Committee to formalize employee compensation and benefits practices.

The first resolution establishes longevity pay for police sergeants and commanders by putting the department’s existing longevity schedule for union members into a council-adopted resolution that applies to those nonunion supervisory positions. A committee member explained the purpose was to ensure management-level employees who are not in the union would receive the same longevity schedule and have clear written guidance.

On the benefits front, the council adopted a city health benefits policy to clarify eligible coverage, vacation scheduling and comp-time/flex-time rules for department heads and other nonunion employees. The policy language specifies exempt department heads are not eligible for comp time, aligns vacation scheduling more consistently across departments, and is intended to put benefits "in black and white" for payroll staff and future administrators.

Both actions were moved and seconded and passed on recorded roll calls during the meeting. The policy committee emphasized these steps aim to remove ambiguity and ensure consistent treatment across positions.