Gatlinburg city employees could get a 3% raise

City Commissioners are considering a new pay plan chantalle@theheraldnewspapers.com All Gatlinburg city employees will get at least a 3% raise if the new pay plan is approved. Larry Russell, of Organizational Management Group, presented the Gatlinburg City Commissioners with a Modified Classification Compensation Study, in a workshop Wednesday afternoon. The main goal of the study is to “build a plan for the city that will attract and keep employees,” explains Russell. With the new plan, “No employee will get a reduction in pay,” according to Cindy Cameron Ogle, City Manager. If the city switches over, the cost of living adjustment (COLA) will be applied and then the employee will be put on the plan. If the new wage is below the minimum plan level, it will be bumped up to the minimum. This plan will also pay seasonal workers on the same scale as a comparable fulltime employee. In most instances, Gatlinburg already pays higher wages than the average comparable city, so the impact on the budget will be about $60,000. The city commissioners agreed to consider the new plan as a component of the 2006-2007 budget. They still have the option to take it out at budget approval time. If the budget is approved with the plan in place, the COLA and new plan increases will be retroactive to July 1st, which is the beginning of the fiscal year. There were many complaints because new employees were paid the same as people who were already working. Many employees found the steps plan very complicated. “The COLA had a compounding affect on the old step plan. It caused the plan to go up more each year. The city department heads are more receptive to this plan because it is much more flexible,” says Ogle. This study compared the city employees’ compensation levels with comparable cities on the southeast coast. They had a population of 30,000 – 40,000 residents and the main industry was tourism. The city’s current pay scale has 31 grades. The new plan was simplified to use 16. It classifies each job category depending on knowledge and skill, impact and accountability, working relationships, and working conditions. In order to keep pay rates attractive and competitive, a new study will need to be done every 3-5 years depending on the economic environment.