Mount Pleasant Town Council to vote on recommended pay increases for first responders, town staff
MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCBD) – Mount Pleasant Town Council is expected to discuss and vote on pay increases and one-time bonuses for town staff and first responders next week.
It comes after town leaders say a ‘Classification and Compensation’ study was completed in early 2020 in anticipation of being implemented by mid-2020.
However, because of the unknown economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, Town Council approved a financial contingency plan with multiple action steps.
“One such action was the delay of implementation for the Classification and Compensation Study until such time as economic stability was assured,” town leaders say.
Mount Pleasant’s HR staff, and The Archer Company, which was brought in to perform the study, have completed an update to the study to ensure changes in comparable wages were captured and current data was provided.
“The updated study recommends increases for employees in all departments,” officials said.
The total estimated cost for implementation is $2.5 million.
Officials say following the implementation of the compensation study, staff will immediately begin to further develop department-specific incentive programs and a new performance appraisal tool.
“This plan is a bold step in supporting the people who support our community, especially our first responders. It recognizes the value of our employees and places Mount Pleasant as the leader in our industry,” said Town Administrator Eric DeMoura.
Examples, provided by the town, show firefighters currently making $38,766 would make $43,217. Police officers making $43,368 would increase wages to $45,527.
One-time bonuses to employees will also be voted on for critical employees “whose job it was to maintain the safety of our community,” and “had significant increases in work responsibility directly related to COVID-19.”
Examples of the bonus:
DeMoura said, “It is proposed by staff that employees meeting some or all of these criteria will be compensated up to $2,500 depending on the amount of time worked, as well as the criteria noted above, during the Town Hall closure between March 17 and May 31, 2020.”
Town Council will receive information from the updated study and vote on the increases during a meeting on October 4th.
“Mount Pleasant Town Council has supported employees throughout the pandemic and these proposed compensation increases and one-time bonuses are further evidence of their continued support,” town leaders said.
If approved, the increases and one-time bonus will be implemented by November.
