Bellaire - Meyerland - West University Edition | Oct. 2022

City population: 18,862 15,589

Median full-time salary:

BELLAIRE'S

$64,230

BUDGET BREAKDOWN Salaries and benets make up roughly 71% of Bellaire’s budget, not accounting for transfer funds.

$66,997

Total full-time employees:

$24.58M $24.6M

Total expenditures Total revenue

187.5

131

The cities of Bellaire and West University Place are similar in salary oerings, according to data provided by each city around late August. Bellaire West University Place

Vacant positions:

30.5

2022-23 general fund budget

Professional services: $2.67M Maintenance: $1.66M Materials, supplies, other: $1.37M Contractual services: $1.21M Salaries and benets: $17.54M

Fire ghter paramedic

Total employees:

Median salary:

TOTAL: $24.58M

$70,085

$63,652

Police ocer

Total employees:

Median salary:

BELLAIRE BLVD.

$71,592

$75,962

610

Full-time employees: $10.93M

Benets: $5.03M

BEECHNUT ST.

Equipment operator

BRAESWOOD BLVD.

Part-time employees: $906,536

Total employees:

Overtime: $343,620

Incentive pay/ other: $199,822

Median salary:

$38,667

SOURCES: CITY OF BELLAIRE, CITY OF WEST UNIVERSITY PLACECOMMUNITY IMPACT

$44,332

Bellaire operates under a 12-step plan in which full- and part-time employ- ees are eligible, typically after six months, for a 3.5% pay increase, Bel- laire Human Resources Manager Lori Remington said. “A step plan to me is a transparent salary plan, especially for elected o- cials,” Remington said. When amending the budget, Fried- berg said it was important for the city to show its employees a willingness to invest in them. “I want this document to serve as a communication directly to our sta on behalf of our residents that we support you, we hear you, and we understand there is an increasingly competitive marketplace,” Friedberg said at the May 16 meeting in a state- ment directed to city employees. The amendment added an addi- tional $62,950 to the city’s budget to increase wages. The FY 2022-23 budget originally included a standard 1.5% salary increase to cover the rising cost of living and a second merit-based step increase of 3.5% for eligible employees who have worked for the city for an extended time frame. When coupled with the step increase passed in May, the average full-time employee’s sal- ary will increase 6.5%, Beaman said. Every year, the U.S. Social Security Administration issues a cost-of-liv- ing adjustment in response to rising prices as a result of ination. In 2022, the U.S. cost of living increased 5.9%. “You could make the argument that

are enclaves within the larger city of Houston. Both have fewer than 200 employees, but West University Place did not experience the same stang shortages as Bellaire, said Dave Beach, West University Place’s city manager. As of Sept. 15, West University has six full-time vacancies, or 4.6% of its total full-time workforce, compared to Bellaire’s 30 vacancies, according to city records. Of West University Place’s 124-per- son sta, the median full-time salary is $66,997 a year compared to Bel- laire’s $64,230, according to data sup- plied by the cities around late August and early September, prior to the passing of FY 2022-23 budgets. Moving forward, Beaman said the city should conduct a study to determine where it can further raise employee salaries to help keep the city competitive. Funding for the study was also recommended in the 2022-23 budget, but additional details and timelines for when it could take place are to be determined by the council at a later date. “In the scal year 2023 budget is a critical management project to per- form a compensation plan and sta- ing model study to be used as a tool to keep the city of Bellaire competi- tive in the job market and continue to make this a great place to work,” the city wrote in the budget’s keynote.

the 4% [increase to employee salaries] is not enough, based on what ination is doing,” Wesley said during the bud- get conrmation Sept. 19. In addition to the salary increases, the city also added two full-time posi- tions in the Bellaire Development Services Department, which ocials said accounted for part of the overall increase in spending on salaries in the FY 2022-23 budget. Salaries and ben- ets account for 60% of the general fund budget. On Sept. 19, council amended the proposed budget to increase the 1.5% cost-of-living adjustment to 2.5% and added a $15 hourly minimum wage for city employees. Looking next door To the east of Bellaire lies West Uni- versity Place, a city of similar size and population as Bellaire. Both cities are auent residen- tial neighborhoods, and both cities

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according to city documents. The city also has issued more than $2 million for group health insurance, a 30% increase over the previous year’s spending. As of Sept. 15, Bellaire had hired 30 permanent employees and 131 seasonal workers in 2022. But nine months into the year, the city still lacks more than 16% of its permanent workforce with 30 vacant positions spread across nearly every depart- ment, according to Bellaire Chief Financial Ocer Terrence Beaman. “We’ve got stang shortages here. … That impacts sta’s ability in nearly everything we do in terms of service delivery to meet resident needs and expectations,” Bellaire Mayor Andrew Friedberg said. Bellaire takes action Not long after the start of the pan- demic in March 2020, Bellaire experi- enced high turnover rates at all levels of work, Council Member Nathan Wes- ley said. Community development and public works were among the hardest hit, he said. “Sometimes it meant that [the city] had to go with a contractor, … and then sometimes everybody had to pitch in and just make it work,” Wes- ley said. The city amended its FY 2021-22 bud- get in May to provide a 3.5% salary step increase to a majority of its full-time employees to a higher pay level since the start of their work with the city.

WE’VE GOT STAFFING SHORTAGES HERE. ... THAT IMPACTS STAFF’S ABILITY IN NEARLY EVERYTHING WE DO IN TERMS OF SERVICE DELIVERY TO MEET RESIDENT NEEDS AND

EXPECTATIONS. ANDREW FRIEDBERG, BELLAIRE MAYOR

For more information, visit communityimpact.com .

BELLAIRE MEYERLAND WEST UNIVERSITY EDITION • OCTOBER 2022