Ogden city leaders propose 2 percent raises for employees

OGDEN — While many cities are holding the line this year on employee pay raises, Ogden's are in line for an average 2 percent boost.

What's more, elected officials will get even bigger hikes a bit later, although Mayor Matthew Godfrey is saying he won't accept his if he's re-elected.

The City Council on Tuesday approved a proposed fiscal year 2011 budget that calls for an average 2 percent pay raise for the city's 590 full-time employees, based on recent pay comparisons with 10 similar cities. It also includes pay increases for elected officials beginning in January 2012, based on comparisons of officials' pay in cities with a similar form of government.

The council has scheduled a final public hearing on the pay increases and the overall budget for June 22. The most recent increase for employees was two years ago.

Godfrey and City Council Chairwoman Caitlin Gochnour credited the work of the city's financial officials and other factors for enabling the pay raises for employees.

"A lot of it was because of our prudence last year," Godfrey said. "Last year, we did not give pay raises when many other cities were. We've been very conservative last year, and this year and we're not overestimating budgets, which then creates the problems of the need for cutbacks. We're talking about 2 percent here. This is not a huge amount of money. The last several years, we're not out of line. It's not like we're being unreasonable in what we're doing."

Godfrey also noted that Ogden is seeing more stores opening, "giving us revenues other cities aren't seeing."

"Our financial people," Gochnour said, "have been so conservative for the past two or three years, and we didn't dip as far as everybody else, nor did we go up as far as everybody else, so we're on track."

The budget also has the city picking up 4 percent of an expected health insurance cost increase, with the employees paying the remaining 2 percent. The city also will implement a policy allowing the administration to increase an employee's pay rate if needed to retain an employee if the employee might otherwise leave city employment.

The pay boost for elected officials would begin Jan. 3, 2012. It would arrive midterm for council Vice Chairwoman Susie Van Hooser and council members Bart Blair, Doug Stephens and Neil Garner.

Chairman pay will rise from $10,917 to $13,884 annually. The vice chairman will get $12,888, up from the current $9,860. Council members will receive $11,880, up from $8,803.