Some Denver council members are pushing for better pay raises for city workers next year and are eyeing two of Mayor John Hickenlooper’s pet projects for the $2.6 million needed to pay for their plan.
Denver Councilwoman Carol Boigon has been meeting with her colleagues on the council to garner support for increasing the merit pay of city employees from the $7 million Hickenlooper budgeted for 2008 to $9.6 million.
Councilman Rick Garcia favors the idea, although the two differ on how to pay for it.
Top officials in the mayor’s administration, worried about the impact to the city’s emergency reserves and a new bonus-pay plan, are pushing back.
“While we agree that the current merit system can be improved, we think that the rates of compensation growth anticipated in 2007 and 2008 are fair and competitive in the current market context,” said Kelly Brough, the mayor’s chief of staff, and Chris Henderson, the chief operating officer, in a memo to the council.
To amend the budget, Boigon would need to garner a seven-vote majority on the council. Nine of the 13 council members would need to support the measure to override a potential Hickenlooper veto.
The sides disagree on whether raises for city workers trail those in the private sector.
Boigon says that they do and that the average salary increase of 3.25 percent budgeted for next year leaves the city’s rank and file workers lagging behind, especially considering they received no raise in 2004 when the city was battling a severe economic downturn.
The discussions center on the pay of 7,500 Career Service Authority workers who aren’t subject to collective bargaining. The 3,500 workers who are subject to collective bargaining in the police, fire and sheriff’s departments aren’t at issue, though Boigon points to the new contract negotiated by the police union, which would raise pay by 4.67 percent next year, as a model of what she is striving to achieve.
“We want to keep the faith with our employees,” she said. “The commitment I thought I made was that when times got better, we would return to the marketplace philosophy.”
Administration officials say Boigon is ignoring the city’s health insurance and pension benefits as well as the new bonus-pay plan. Once those factors are thrown into the mix, the pay of city workers increases an average of 6.24 percent next year, according to the Hickenlooper administration. Boigon’s plan would increase base pay another 1 percent for next year, according to the administration.
Two sources of revenue are being eyed for the proposal to boost pay, and both are top Hickenlooper initiatives.
Under one proposal, the money would come from a new $5.2 million bonus-pay plan Hickenlooper has touted as one of his top efforts at making government more like a business.
Under that program, managers set specific goals and bonuses are parceled out based on whether the departments meet those data-driven standards.
“It’s establishing what you do and measuring it, and the difference is in rewarding that achievement,” Brough said. “We think it motivates and drives behavior.”
Another proposal eventually would take the money from the city’s $130 million reserve balance, which Hickenlooper has pushed up to 15 percent of the $866 million general fund.
A few years ago, the city kept a 10 percent reserve fund balance. Hickenlooper, responding to recommendations from a task force that reviewed the city’s finances, has pushed the reserves higher. Administration officials say the extra cushion is needed in case of economic downturns or emergencies.
Garcia would rather take the money from the bonus plan.
Boigon would take the money from the bonus program first, and replenish it from reserve funds.
Other council members are skeptical.
Councilwoman Jeanne Faatz said she would also like to increase raises but is leery of doing anything that would increase the later costs for unused sick leave and vacation pay city employees receive when they retire.
Councilman Charlie Brown said Boigon should hold off until she’s sure she can override a mayoral veto.
“I don’t think any of us want to waste time for a theater,” he said.
Christopher N. Osher: 303-954-1747 or cosher@denverpost.com
