salary increase - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-29T00:17:47Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/salary+increaseManalapan: Town employees get 5% pay boostshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/manalapan-town-employees-get-5-pay-boosts2022-03-02T16:06:45.000Z2022-03-02T16:06:45.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Larry Barszewski</strong></p>
<p>Manalapan is giving its town employees unexpected 5% raises, hoping to keep them happy with their jobs and to reduce the chances they will start looking for more lucrative employment elsewhere.<br /> When Town Manager Linda Stumpf broached the subject with commissioners in January, concerned that the town’s pay scale wasn’t keeping up with those in neighboring communities, she suggested a 2% increase, with possibly another significant pay boost when the next annual budget is approved later this year.<br /> Commissioners instead voted unanimously at their Feb. 22 meeting for 5% raises for all full- and part-time workers and to lift the starting salary for police officers in town from $51,200 to $55,000.<br /> Commissioner John Deese said the increases are warranted, given today’s job market.<br /> “I’ve been dealing with this in my own office,” said Deese, who is CEO of Guardians Credit Union. “We literally went into crisis mode,” awarding raises of up to 15% and retention bonuses of 10% in an effort to stem the tide of employees leaving for other jobs.<br /> “I just want to make sure we’re ahead of that so we don’t end up losing good people,” Deese said. <br /> Stumpf said she hadn’t heard grumbling from town employees thinking about leaving, but didn’t want to wait for that to happen.<br /> Police Chief Carmen Mattox, who has been having difficulty filling his department’s openings, recently hired a new officer who will receive the increased starting pay. He has two other officer positions to fill.<br /> “I think it’s going to help retain officers and I think it’s going to help attract officers,” Mattox said. <br /> Katie Mendoza, representing the Police Benevolent Association, said other communities are adjusting their pay scales and starting salaries, some as part of ongoing contract negotiations. She supported the 5% raise, but said the starting salary for police officers could be even higher than the approved bump if the commission wants to make it more competitive.<br /> Mayor Keith Waters said the raises and new starting salary are a good place to start. The town will continue to monitor salaries in preparation for its next budget.<br /> Police will receive at least a 3% raise in October, which will be the last year of their current contract. Stumpf previously said the town’s typical 3% employee raises awarded in October may need to be as high as 5% this year.<br /> The town employs about 40 full- and part-time workers, Stumpf said. The approved raises will cost about $110,900 annually, she said, while the boost in starting salary for police officers will cost about $15,200 annually. </p></div>Delray Beach: DDA approves new package for Simonhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/delray-beach-dda-approves-new-package-for-simon2015-11-04T19:33:45.000Z2015-11-04T19:33:45.000ZChris Felkerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ChrisFelker<div><p><strong>By Jane Smith</strong><br /><br /> The Downtown Development Authority board will give new Executive Director Laura Simon a salary increase to coincide with her promotion. <br /><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960614682,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960614682,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="97" alt="7960614682?profile=original" /></a> At the Delray Beach authority’s Oct. 12 meeting, the board agreed to increase Simon’s base salary to $75,000 from $61,800 she made as associate director. She also will receive a $250 monthly car allowance and an $85 monthly cellphone allowance.<br /> Simon was named executive director at the September board meeting of the Delray Beach agency. She took over on Oct. 1.<br /> At a specially called meeting in August, the board voted not to renew the contract of Marjorie Ferrer. Her contract as executive director ended Sept. 30. She had led the DDA since 1993. At the time of her departure, Ferrer’s base salary was $94,003 with a $3,600 annual car allowance.<br /> The board felt pressure from Simon, who said she was hired five years ago as Ferrer’s replacement and had a job offer. It also was under scrutiny from the City Commission as a tax agency that receives $1 for every $1,000 in taxable property value in its 340 acres. In the summer, Mayor Cary Glickstein pointed out the DDA spent 40 percent of its budget on administrative costs.<br /> Ferrer has since established her own consulting firm, Downtown Management Consulting, where she will help cities manage their downtowns.<br /> Simon’s contract will be approved at an upcoming board meeting. It will be retroactive to Oct. 1.</p></div>Delray Beach: CRA sets top salary, schedules goal-setting sessionhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/delray-beach-cra-sets-top-salary-schedules-goal-setting-session2015-02-04T20:19:10.000Z2015-02-04T20:19:10.000ZChris Felkerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ChrisFelker<div><p><strong><em>INSET BELOW:</em></strong> <em>Costello</em></p>
<p><strong>By Jane Smith</strong><br /><br /> The new head of Delray Beach’s Community Redevelopment Agency will receive a slightly more than 18 percent salary increase over his previous salary as the agency’s assistant director.<br /> The CRA board approved that salary of $132,893 for Jeff Costello at its Jan. 8 meeting by a 4-2 vote. Board Chairman Herman Stevens and board member Cathy Balestriere voted no. Board member Angela Gray was absent. <br /> “Jeff is my man,” Stevens said after the meeting. “I thought it should have been more.” <br /> Balestriere could not be reached for comment. At the meeting, she said Costello deserved about $140,000 because he knows the staff, has years of experience and saved the board money by not having to search for a new executive. <br /><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960554100,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="200" class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960554100,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="7960554100?profile=original" /></a> In December, a 5 percent salary increase was discussed when Costello was approved to replace longtime executive director Diane Colonna. In that position, she made $136,202.70. She left the agency Jan. 2; Costello took over on Jan. 5, the next work day.<br /> Costello presented backup information to the board at its Jan. 8 meeting that said as the assistant director he would have been eligible for a March merit raise of 2.5 percent, as the director he will not be eligible for a pay increase until January 2016. “Therefore, a 5 percent salary increase is essentially a 2.5 percent increase,” he wrote. <br /> He included a chart that listed executive director salary, acreage, staff and budgets for agencies in three other cities (Boynton Beach, Lake Worth and Riviera Beach) and for Delray Beach.<br /> Costello asked for a salary comparable to Lake Worth’s CRA executive director and received it. Lake Worth’s agency has 517 acres in its borders, has a staff of three and a budget of $1.68 million, according to the information given to the Delray Beach board members. The Delray CRA has 1,961 acres, a staff of 12 and a budget of $25.7 million.<br /> The board members want to review Costello in six months as well as at the beginning of the financial year in October. <br /> Also at that meeting, board members decided they want a 2015 goal setting workshop, but not like last year’s when former CRA executive director Chris Brown was the facilitator. Board members did not want a facilitator because they are not shy about voicing opinions and disliked the ranking method (low, medium or high) of each goal. <br /> Costello reserved space for that session on Feb. 25 at the Delray Center for the Arts. He will take that meeting date to the board this month for its approval. According to a November update of 2014 goals, West Atlantic Avenue, North Federal Highway redevelopment and the Downtown Development Association’s marketing plans will likely be on the agenda. Ú</p></div>