After hearing a presentation on the results of a salary study for non-union city employees during its previous meeting, the Marshalltown city council worked on ironing out the details Monday night as well as how to pay for the proposal to increase salaries to the 65th percentile among about 15 similar communities.

City Finance Director Diana Steiner reported that going to the 65th percentile would have an impact of $77,010 on the general fund between January and June of 2024, but she added that due to some current vacancies and grant funds that pay for those positions, the actual cost would only be $60,819 unless they are filled between now and then.

She presented a few options — using Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) dollars, as the fund currently has about $1.5 million, or Automated Traffic Enforcement (ATE) revenues as the cameras have gone live in the last few months.

Mayor Joel Greer pointed to struggles in attracting employees to work for the city, citing the police and fire departments as examples and stressing the need for an engineer to help Public Works Director Heather Thomas.

“She is really working too many hours and getting too much done. It scares me to get the emails with the length and detail that I get from her and the time of day and night that she’s writing them,” Greer said.

Councilor Jeff Schneider then made a motion to utilize LOST funds to cover the cost, and as discussion was opened up, fellow councilor Gary Thompson asked if the increases had to be “all-inclusive” or if they could be applied to all staff except department heads.

“The reason I’m saying it is we have an opening for city administrator. We got qualified applicants for those top-level jobs. It’s my understanding we have qualified applicants for the Housing and Community Development Director, and we’re sitting on those applications,” he said. “So obviously we’re not having trouble filling the top level jobs, so we must be paying enough in comparison. But obviously, we can’t fill bus drivers. We can’t fill electricians. We can’t fill some of the entry level jobs. So I’m all in favor of the boots on the ground, so to speak, getting raises, but not to throw money at department heads, in my opinion, that are already well-paid. So is there a way to split this out and divide this up?”

Steiner said the numbers could be recalculated, and Councilor Barry Kell responded to Thompson that it would not impact the base salaries of the department heads as they were already greater than the 65th percentile. Steiner then clarified Kell’s comment and said the study would create step increases for the department heads, and he indicated that it would create “consistency” across the board.

Thompson’s comment also drew a response from Police Chief Mike Tupper, who took issue with “negative commentary” about the salaries of department heads.

“Your department directors work their tails off for this community. We put in a ton of hours beyond 40 every week. We are passionate about serving this community and making Marshalltown the best that it can be. We are not overpaid, and it’s disappointing to hear those types of remarks from an elected official,” Tupper said. “Your department directors work very hard and deal with a lot of complex issues on a daily basis to try to keep this all running. I respect the fact that you have a very difficult job when it comes to managing the finances, and I know that there (are) a lot of tough challenges. But I would hope that this body would have a little more respect for the department directors and the work that they do, and we can focus on, maybe, a more positive path.”

He added that he plans to retire within the next few years and told the council “Good luck finding somebody to work this job for what you’re paying me” because it won’t meet the market for police chiefs. Greer, who is serving as the acting city administrator until Joe Gaa comes onboard next month, praised the department heads for their efforts and added that he was fearful of losing more top staff in the weeks and months to come.

“This has not been an easy time to work for the city of Marshalltown losing our city administrator and losing our 22-year housing and development director,” Greer said.

He then remarked on how much his appreciation for all of the work the department heads do, and Councilor Gabe Isom told Tupper he shouldn’t let Thompson’s comments speak for the entire council.

“I share some of the appreciation from others of what you do and what other departments do, so don’t let one voice speak to the manner of which you guys are interpreting it,” Isom said.

According to recently published salary information, department heads were paid the following salary during Fiscal Year 2022: $212,938.23 for Kinser (who is no longer employed with the city), $136,009.87 for Tupper, $132,676.40 for Fire Chief David Rierson, $125,425.12 for Library Director Sarah Rosenblum, $125,425.12 for now former Housing and Community Development Director Michelle Spohnheimer, $125,425.12 for Steiner, $112,970.40 for Thomas, $106,599.07 for Human Resources Director Jill Petermeier and $73,943.04 for City Clerk Alicia Hunter.

A roll call vote on the motion to direct staff to return with a formal resolution authorizing the use of the LOST funds carried by a unanimous tally.

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Contact Robert Maharry

at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.