Spartanburg council seeks to pay city workers a fair wage in competitive marketplace

Seeking to retain and recruit employees in a competitive marketplace, Spartanburg City Council on Monday agreed to hire a consultant to study the salaries and benefits of all city employees to determine whether a new pay structure is needed.

"It's important to make sure we're paying our employees right," City Councilman Jamie Fulmer said.

The $49,000 cost of the study is funded in this year's budget, said Michelle Clyburn, the city's director of human resources.

It will be performed by Management Advisory Group International of Fairfax, Virginia, which has conducted some 550 similar studies in 40 states, she said. The firm was selected over four others that submitted proposals.

"We consider it important to provide a competitive salary to city employees," Clyburn said. "Direct compensation affects our ability to attract and retain a talented workforce."

Clyburn said the city has about 400 employees in 19 departments, with 154 positions and 54 pay grades. She said there is roughly a 50% difference between the minimum and maximum compensation in each pay grade.

The average salary for a city employee is $51,058.81 per year. In 2021-22, 36% of the city's 138 employees earned over $50,000 a year, and 10 of them made over $100,859 a year in salary and benefits.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median household income in Spartanburg in 2020 was $42,841. The median household income in South Carolina was $54,864.

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This past May, Spartanburg Budget Director Dennis Locke told Council that while pay raises were previously approved for city police officers and firefighters, a review of compensation for employees in other departments is needed.

In 2020, City Council approved a total of $625,000 in raises for 130 police officers, with starting salaries raised from $36,300 to $40,500.

Last year, the city's budget contained $430,000 in pay increases for roughly 74 paid firefighters – an average of 13.7%, or $5,400 apiece, according to City Manager Chris Story.

Included was a new step pay plan designed to better compensate firefighters based on their rank and experience, Story said. The base salary for firefighters was raised from $33,500 to $37,000.

In June, City Council passed a 2022-23 budget that includes a 3% in cost of living adjustment for all employees, along with an additional 2% for the public works department.

Just two months ago in October, City Council voted to give itself its first pay increase in 24 years, raising the council members' pay from $9,000 a year to $14,000 – a 55% increase; and that of the mayor from $16,000 a year to $21,000 – a 31% increase.

Clyburn said there is competition for jobs among other employers, such as county government and the private sector.

Three years ago, Spartanburg County Council passed its first pay restructuring plan in more than a decade. Of 1,550 employees, 1,183 were in 27 pay grades ranging from $23,000 to $167,710 qualified for pay increases totaling $5.3 million a year.

In 2021-22, Spartanburg County budgeted $69,189,240 for all 2,330 employees – which includes 1,246 full-time, 322 part-time and 762 poll workers.

The average full-time county salary was $48,830.43, up from $46,474 the previous year. There were 467 employees who made more than $50,000, and 23 employees who made more than $100,000 a year.

This past June, County Council passed a 2022-23 budget that includes a 5% cost of living increase for nearly 1,500 employees, adds 23 new positions and raises entry level salaries by 2.5% for law enforcement.

County council also voted itself a pay raise two years ago, the first in 30 years, raising the pay of council members from $12,500 to $19,500, and to $23,500 for the chairman.

This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: Spartanburg Council seeks to pay city workers a fair wage