Signal division seeks modest pay-title upgrades, funding for pedestrian signals

At the Feb. 2 budget hearing, the signal-division lead asked the council to approve title reclassifications and modest wage adjustments for three long-serving employees, plus continued funding for required certifications and pedestrian-safety equipment.

Rich Charlton described moving three employees who have worked 6–7 years out of the laborer classification into the civil-service title Traffic Signal Tech 1 to recognize regular step increases and to align titles with duties. He said the step increases are similar in cost to their existing laborer steps, and the changes are primarily about title recognition.

Charlton also outlined training and certification needs: traffic-signal certification cycles come every three years and the division budgeted about $14,000 this year for those recertifications; a smaller $5,000 item is maintained for CPM/CPWM training. For pedestrian safety, he said one crosswalk with push-button/flashers and hardware is almost $10,000 and a full intersection can be near $20,000.

Council members repeatedly praised the division for cost savings and in-house work that reduced contractor expenses during recent projects and community events.

What’s next: the council will consider the title changes and training line items as part of the salaries-and-wages review ahead of the final budget introduction.