Pay plan would increase City of Lawton salaries at least 5 percent

Every general employee working for the City of Lawton would receive at least 5 percent more in salary beginning July 1, if the City Council accepts a new pay plan proposal.

Council members were debating a recommendation Tuesday that would simplify the existing pay plan while also moving employee positions closer to the market average — a tool that would benefit both recruitment and employee retention. The recommendations came following an analysis by JER HR Group, which found the City of Lawton was more than 20 percent behind the market average for comparable cities.

Human Resources Director Craig Akard said city administrators entered the discussion with one decision already made: they wanted the minimum salary of the city’s lowest paid employee to be $15 (it now is $9.37 for Step 1 of Level 1). He said administrators weighted three options while trying to decide employee raises, including 10 percent across-the-board increases before settling on the plan that won the approval of the Employees Advisory Committee. Simply put, the plan sets the lowest pay for any general employee at $15 per hour, then adjusts all other salary grades and steps accordingly.

That $15 plan contains 14 levels/grades and 11 steps within each step, with 5 percent difference between each step. There now are 17 grades and 17 steps within each grade.

Akard said the new plan would guarantee every general employee (those who are not members of the police and fire unions) a 5 percent pay raise beginning July 1. The increase would be more for some employees because they would be relocated to new grades and steps within the pay chart. City administrators said the new pay chart eliminates existing grades 1 through 3, meaning those employees would be moved to new grades and steps.

“Everyone below the minimum pay grade would be bumped into that ($15 per hour),” Akard said.

The new pay chart sets minimum salaries of $15 per hour to $34.45 for Step 1 for the new 14 grades, to $24.45 per hour to $56.10 per hour for step 11.

Council members said the plan was warranted.

“General employees are the ones that keep the general wheels moving,” said Ward 3 Councilwoman Linda Chapman.

There also are concerns about how the new salaries would be funded.

Interim City Manager John Ratliff said administrators have identified 44 full time employee positions that would be eliminated from next year’s budget, a cost savings that would help fund the pay raises. He said multiple criteria were used to identify those positions cited for elimination; the most important, the post has been vacant for more than six months.

Ratliff said the council also will vote on another plan that will help keep the City of Lawton from falling into this position again. A new ordinance would make cost of living increases for general employees automatic each budget year, unless the council votes votes down that increase.

“That in code will prevent us from falling behind,” Ratliff said.