Politics & Government

Pay Raises, Benefit Contribution Increases Coming to City Employees

The Waukesha Common Council approved contracts with the city's unions that leave employees take home pay frozen.

All city employees will receive pay raises this May but total compensation is leaving take home pay essentially frozen this year.

The Waukesha Common Council approved Tuesday night a 2 percent wage increase in May for all employees. Additionally, the council approved a three-year contract with police and fire employees that calls for 2 percent raises in January 2014 and January 2015 and a 1.5 percent raise in July 2014 and July 2015.

The pay raises for all employees are offset by the increased contributions to the state’s retirement funds and toward health care premiums.

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It is not costing the taxpayers any additional money. … We will not be asking for any additional tax revenue for any of these changes,” said Human Resources Director Donna Whalen.

All city employees not participating in the health risk assessment program will pay 20 percent of their health care premiums in 2013, under the proposals going before the Common Council. The employees in the health risk assessment program will pay 8 percent of the premiums in 2013, 10 percent in 2014 and 12 percent in 2015,

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The pay increases and benefit contributions were structured to treat all employees equal, despite a disparity that separates police and fire employees from the state’s collective bargaining law, according to City Administrator Ed Henschel.

“It created inequities between some municipal employees working side by side with employees within the organization,” Henschel said. “It was important that we created fairness and equity in terms of compensation and benefits for our employees.”

The union contracts have been accepted by some unions, however not all unions in the city have ratified the contracts, according to Whalen.

“The employees are funding their own pay increases,” she said. “This was after many long hours of negotiations.”


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