Non-Union Salary Ordinance and Collins Center Study

At a glance

Based on auto-generated captions; names and figures may be misheard.

What: the mayor's order 26-1009697 to adopt a new non-union pay structure based on the Collins Center classification and compensation study (delivered May 2025; the last overhaul was 2016): a 15-step scale, position groups B to H, hourly rates, and department reorganizations.
Where it stands: on 2026-06-01 Finance approved job descriptions for four positions (city collector, collector/assistant finance director, recreation director, assistant recreation director) 5-0, but sent the pay structure back to the mayor to be redone in the seven-step, annual-salary format used for other recent salary ordinances. On 2026-06-15 Finance sent a seven-step draft for the four positions to the solicitor; it was advertised on 2026-06-22 and passed on 2026-07-20; see Recreation Department Reorganization and City Collector Appointment.
Next: the 15-step plan for all other non-union positions has not come back in the record; the mayor said on 2026-06-01 that the groups affect each other and need to be handled as a total package.

15-step scale, about 30% over 15 years (roughly 2% a step), so staff are retained and pay stays competitive with nearby municipalities.
Groups B to H (group A held in reserve); incumbents placed at the step that avoids any pay cut. Police and fire chiefs, DPW commissioner, comptroller and solicitor are handled in separate ordinances or contracts.
Hourly rates, because some jobs are 35-hour and some 40-hour.
Recreation department reorganization and an HR manager title (plus five more hours for the HR administrative assistant after the insurance broker change on January 1).
City collector moves from 35 to 40 hours (the job was vacant).
The mayor said it was sent in March hoping to be taken up alongside the fiscal 2027 budget; council leaders said it could not be handled during budget season.

Michael Ossing (Council President): 15 steps at 2% plus cost-of-living increases is about 5% a year, bad for fiscal discipline and union bargaining; recent ordinances for DPW, assistant chiefs, city engineer and planner used seven steps; hourly figures hide the annual cost.
Councilor Robey: collector pay at step one exceeds the budgeted $94,145; unclear why both a collector and a collector/assistant finance director job exist; documents had other positions whited out.
Councilor Vital: doubted the Collins study is objective; had never seen a 15-step range.
Councilor Oram and Councilor Fucillo: supported the work and the urgency, asked to see seven-step and annual figures for the four priority jobs.

2026-06-01: job descriptions approved 5-0; seven-step annual-salary version requested for the four positions, with the 15-step comparison.

The mayor sent an annualized seven-step ordinance on June 4 covering about 30 positions; Michael Ossing extracted a one-page draft for the four priority jobs (40 hours a week, effective 2026-08-01, recreation director starting at step four).
Finance referred that draft to the city solicitor 5-0; a motion to approve it for discussion first failed. Councilor Vital still prefers the 15-step scale but accepted seven steps for now.

About 80 minutes across 2 meetings (from transcript timestamps; approximate).

Meeting	Minutes
2026-06-15 - Finance Committee	13
2026-06-01 - Finance Committee	67

2026-06-15 - Finance Committee - Seven-step ordinance for the four positions reviewed; referred to the city solicitor to be put in legal form, 5-0.
2026-06-01 - Finance Committee - First hearing. Mayor's letter read; job descriptions for four positions approved 5-0; pay structure returned to the mayor in seven-step annual-salary form after sharp debate over the 15-step plan.
2026-11-09 - Finance Committee Meeting - Scheduled: salary amendments for the Council on Aging Program Coordinator, Emergency Management Director and eight other positions on the agenda (relationship to this ordinance not stated).
2026-11-02 - City Council Meeting - Mayor's salary ordinance amendment for eight positions (DPW Financial Analyst, Assistant City Solicitor, Paralegal, City Auditor, Principal Assessor, Chief Procurement Officer, Chief of Staff, Executive Administrator to the Mayor) referred to the Finance Committee, 11-0.