North Pole council advances 3% pay raise for city employees

The North Pole City Council advanced an ordinance Tuesday to raise city employee pay 3 percent starting Jan. 1, voting 6-0 after rejecting a push to delay it for a work session. The raise wouldn't apply to the mayor or to temporary and casual employees.

The delay failed on a 3-3 tie, and the split exposed some friction. One council member said the mayor had twice ignored requests for a workshop; the mayor countered that a work session would have barred employees from testifying.

Some of them did. Police Chief Heath Smith told the council that trust among city employees is low. "In city departments right now, the level of trust for city council at large is very low," he said.

The council amended the ordinance twice, each 5-1: one change excludes department heads and the mayor from shift-differential pay, the other extends the raise to Public Works and Utilities employees. The ordinance sets 3 percent annual step increases, matching a 2019 pay-scale ordinance.

Smith estimated the raise would cost his department about $46,000. The city's chief financial officer said a full budget impact would be ready Friday.