A proposed minimum wage increase for Star City public works employees was approved at Tuesday night’s town council meeting in hopes of gaining and retaining employees in the department.
Star City Public Works Director Phillip Davis had previously proposed a set starting wage of $14 for all new employees as well as wage increases for a few current workers in response to staffing issues facing the department.
Davis told council that he had several staff members leave for jobs offering more money and had received applications from people seeking employment, but needed to be able to offer competitive wages.
Council members raised a few concerns about the proposal before ultimately approving it, the biggest being the fact that the town currently pays 100% of employees’ health insurance costs and those rates are projected to increase later this year.
After a brief discussion, council unanimously approved the $14 minimum wage for new public works employees as well as raises based on performance for five current workers effective at the start of the next pay cycle. The wage increases are still within the budget for the department.
Davis said there was not a set starting wage previously and pay was based on experience, making it difficult to answer potential hires asking about pay rates.
“Getting this set in stone, I think, is going to be a big step for getting people in here and getting more applications for us,” Davis told The Dominion Post following the meeting.
Currently, the town employs six public works employees and Davis makes seven. He said he would like to get that number to nine or 10.
Davis said in the past the town has had as many as 12 or 13 workers in the department, but he feels fewer workers at a higher wage will help lead to less turnover, as workers won’t be tempted to look elsewhere for higher pay.
Council members also asked Davis to look into safety training for public works employees as well as any department policies that may need to be implemented or updated.
“I think we are coming up as a town,” Davis said. “I think these kinds of improvements and things getting set in stone really helps out and helps us keep improving.”
During the council meeting, Star City Police Chief Jessica Colebank also announced some updates from the police department including the new officer body cameras and dash cameras that she said will be in full effect on Monday. The department also invested in new tasers that will be implemented Feb. 1.
Colebank said she was also looking into policy updates for the police department and would be proposing a homeless encampment ordinance and a drug paraphernalia ordinance at the next council meeting.
