Walnut Grove to consider tiered one-time retention pay for city employees

The Walnut Grove City Council discussed Resolution 2025-07, a proposal for a one-time, tiered salary increase intended as retention pay for city employees. Presiding Officer (S1) said the payment is not a holiday bonus but a retention award structured by length of service and that the cost was included in this year’s budget.

"The one-time salary increase for all city employees is not a bonus, but a retention," Presiding Officer (S1) said, explaining that new employees would receive smaller amounts under the tiered schedule described in the resolution. City staff said payments would likely be processed in an employee paycheck in the second week after approval to ensure timely distribution.

The resolution was not voted on at the work session; Presiding Officer (S1) said it will come forward for a council vote at the Dec. 11 meeting. Council members expressed support for the retention approach and discussed fairness of a tenure-based schedule versus salary-percentage approaches used elsewhere.

No fiscal details beyond the statement that the item was included in the current budget were provided in the session. City staff will place the resolution on the Dec. 11 agenda for a formal vote.