When the Select Board voted two weeks ago to approve a cost-of-living raise for the town’s nonunion employees, the board delayed its decision on merit raises. This week, the board returned to the matter and approved merit raises that could range from zero to 3% for those employees, depending on their evaluations by their department heads. About 36 town employees, most of whom work at Town Hall or in the library, are nonunion. The Select Board’s vote was unanimous, 4-0, with member Don Ludwig absent.
As in the past, money to cover the merit raises will be presented as a small warrant article at Town Meeting for a decision by the voters. The total amount, which would cover the maximum 3% raise for all nonunion employees, is expected to be about $70,000. However, not all employees would receive the maximum raise, so some of that money would likely be left over and returned to free cash.
Select Board Chair SusanMary Redinger asked who would have final approval of the merit raises. Town Administrator Dan Nason said he should have the final word, in a collaborative approach with the department heads and Assistant Town Administrator Allyson Mitchell, who oversees human resources.
When the topic of merit raises originally came up at the earlier meeting, Select Board member Kara Minar asked how other towns handled such raises. In response, Mitchell sent out inquiries, and she presented the responses from eight other towns. All but one said they used step increases plus cost of living, rather than merit pay raises. Harvard used step increases for nonunion employees until 2018, switching to the system of merit raises in 2019.
Several board members expressed interest in returning to the step system in the future. Minar pointed out that both cost-of-living increases and merit raises fluctuate from year to year, which makes planning more difficult. Nason said a system of step increases can work well, as long as it has enough steps so that an employee does not “max out” too soon, leading experienced employees to leave.
