1400 Atlanta workers might get raises

Watson says the pension savings made balancing the upcoming budget a lot easier. Those savings came at a cost to many city employees. The retirement plans they have now aren’t as good as they once were. But, unions agreed to the reforms after Reed argued the city could not afford to keep the old plans. At the same time, employees urged to city to consider long sought after raises.

Now, the city is pushing for all employees to have an annual salary that is at least 82.5% of their market value. To reach that goal, a study showed about 1,400 of the city’s employees would need raises.

“There were several employees whose salaries needed to be bumped up,” said City Council Finance Committee chair Felicia Moore. “Some from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars.”

On average, each employee would see their salary go up by $1,400. Gina Pagnotta says that’s good news for some. She’s the President of the local chapter of the Professional Association of City Employees. It includes sanitation workers and city managers.

“We don’t want to knock our fellow employees that can get an increase,” said Pagnotta. “But, we don’t want to sit around and see the others just possibly not get an increase at all.”

For example, she says you can make at least 82.5% of your market value. But, if you’re salary is $30,000, she says that might not be enough based on cost of living and other factors. In defense, city officials say it’s the first time in 17 years Atlanta has considered such a move. The city would pay about $1.4 million to increase salaries.

The council could vote on Monday.