City Employees Set to Receive One-Time Bonus and Annual Salary Increases

The City of Searcy has been working for several months to develop a plan around increasing pay for City employees. These increases are possible in large part due to the passing of the one-cent sales tax that began collecting in August 2022. 

Mayor Kyle Osborne requested that the City Council form a committee to review current salaries and recommended increases with each department head in June. This committee met multiple times with each department head, reviewing pay rates from similar size communities and hearing the needs of the departments. The committee proposed the following changes that the City Council approved at their regular meeting on Tuesday, October 11. 

• Starting salary for full-time new employees begins at $31,200. 

• Fireman full-time annual salary begins at $38,870 with a step and grade for increases up to $72,508.28. 

• Policeman full-time annual base salary begins at $37,814.40 with a step and grade for increases up to $62,550. In addition to the base salary, police will continue to get certificate pay as outlined in the City’s Code of Ordinances. For example, a police officer who has an intermediate certificate level and has been with the department for five years will receive an additional $.73 per hour. 

• CDL driver starting hourly rate increased from $14.75 to $16. 

• A one-time $2,000 bonus for full-time employees and $600 bonus for part-time employees. 

One-time bonuses will be given immediately, and salary increases will be implemented with the 2023 budget. 

“Our goal was to give employees a raise as soon as possible,” City Councilman Rodger Cargile said. “We knew that logistically, we could not get raises implemented immediately, so we developed a plan to give all employees a one-time bonus to bridge the gap while we implemented the new plan.” 

In addition to these new changes accepted by the City Council, all city employees also received a 5% cost of living increase in January 2022.

“I want to thank the City Council for investing in our people,” Mayor Kyle Osborne said. “Our City’s greatest asset is our employees. Recruiting and retaining quality talent is a top priority, and these salary changes will help in our efforts.”