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BUDGET DRIVERS <br />Other noteworthy items of the recommended preliminary 2017 budget are offered below: <br />COLA & Step Increases <br />The first year COLAs and steps were paid to non-union employees after a two year wage freeze was in 2012. <br />Restoring equity between union and non-union employees reinforces internal fairness, which deteriorated <br />during the down economic years. The recommended 2017 General Fund Budget plans for a 2.5% cost of living <br />increase of salaries and wages for non-union employees, step increases, and corresponding increases for FICA <br />and PERA. The COLA increase equates to $109,000 or 0.72 % of the recommended 2017 General Fund <br />Expenditures. A cursory review of COLA’s being considered by metro-area communities suggests 2.5% is at <br />the low end. <br />The pie chart below shows the percentage of spending that occurs on personnel costs as proposed by the 2017 <br />Budget. In the 2016 budget presentations, the following bar chart was shared showing, by comparison, what <br />percentage of the other cities budgets are spent on personnel. These charts illustrate that New Brighton remains <br />in the bottom three in terms of staffing costs related to the overall budget. <br />Personnel,  <br />61% <br />Materials &  <br />Supplies, 4% <br />Contractual  <br />Services, 25% <br />Transfers, 9% <br />7