West Palm Beach employees will be getting big pay raises - some as much as a 20% increase

West Palm Beach employees are in line for pay increases of as much as 20% this fall after the city commission voted in favor of a pair of union contracts this week.

The contracts, ratified this month by the Service Employees International Union and the Professional Managers and Supervisors Association, call for members to receive a 5% percent cost-of-living pay increase when the new fiscal year begins on Oct. 1. Market-rate pay adjustments also go into effect on that date.

A market-rate pay adjustment is based on how much of an upward adjustment an employee gets based on how far a salary is below the maximum pay for the position. Pay ranges have expanded as the city has attempted to compete for new employees, but those already working for the city haven't always benefited from the new, higher pay ranges.

The goal is to bring longer-term employees whose pay has fallen far below market rates up to or even above market rate pay.

The union employee raises are expected to cost about $5.9 million in fiscal year 2024 and will be accounted for in the upcoming city budget, which will come up for a final vote in September.

Nonunionized employees are expected to get the same type of pay increases as their unionized colleagues. Those raises will also be included in the upcoming budget.

Pay increases of as much as 20% are far above the 3% to 5% raises employees have received in recent years. But those modest raises have failed to keep up with inflation, and West Palm Beach, like governments throughout the county, has struggled to attract and retain employees who have found the area's soaring housing costs to be more than they can manage on their pay.

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The city said new cost-of-living and market rate adjustments will take employees' average pay from 8% below market rate to about 8% above market rate.

City officials hailed the pay raises as "historic" and "unheard of."

"This will certainly enable the city to take what I think is its rightful place as the leading city in this market for compensating their employees," Mayor Keith James said. "It will help us with our retention of able employees and also with recruiting. This is a well-deserved action."

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City commission members agreed with James' assessment.

"I am also happy to see this come forward," commissioner Christy Fox said of the pay-raise package. "Our employees are our greatest and this is well-deserved."

Commissioner Shalonda Warren added: "I'd just like to commend everyone for the outstanding effort that has gone into righting this ship and getting the salaries into the position they should be."

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Commissioner Christina Lambert described the raises as a "win-win for our community, not only a much-needed and well-deserved increase for our hard-working employees but also for our stakeholders and residents who suffer when we struggle with retention and recruitment. This is an excellent tool in our toolbox now, and I'm happy to support it."

Wayne Washington is a journalist covering West Palm Beach, Riviera Beach and race relations at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at wwashington@pbpost.com. Help support our work; subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: West Palm Beach employees will get big raises in new union contract