Norco Council Passes Budget Providing for 10% Pay Raises

The City Council on Wednesday approved an $8.8-million annual budget, including a 10% pay raise for most city employees.

The council, by a 5-0 vote, gave itself a 5% salary increase beginning in December, after the election of three members in November. The council members will receive $315 a month.

Employees in the city’s two bargaining units already have accepted the two-year contracts, approved last night by a unanimous vote of the council. The pacts call for a 10% pay increase on June 28 and a 5% hike next year, said John Donlevy, Norco city manager.

Salaries Range to $2,777

Under the agreements, employees in certain job classifications--senior building inspector, staff services clerk, firefighter, fire engineer and fire captain--will be eligible for additional increases of as much as 5%, and the city’s four executive secretaries could receive additional increases up to 10%.

The additional increases for those categories will be based on each employee’s annual evaluation, and will be added to his or her regular “step” increase for performance and length of service.

Monthly salaries for 1986-87 will range from $1,174 for a beginning receptionist to $2,777 for an experienced fire captain, according to tables presented to the City Council.

Part-time employees such as lifeguards, fire cadets and crossing guards also will receive a 10% pay increase, with most earning between $3.75 and $5.75 an hour.

The 1986-87 budget, approved by a 4-1 vote, with Councilman Steven M. Nathan dissenting, contains few changes from this year’s $6.2-million spending plan. Police services--provided by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department under a $1,015,136 contract--and fire protection will remain at current levels.

“Basically, it’s a status-quo budget,” Donlevy said. “No increases in positions and no deletions.”

The most significant change in the budget for the coming year is in increased revenue from the city’s “aggressive redevelopment program,” most of which will be reinvested in the city’s infrastructure through capital improvements, Donlevy said.

The city will spend more than $2 million on capital improvements, including $1.046 million on water-system improvements, $571,000 on street improvements, $183,200 to replace city vehicles, $171,000 for sewer and storm-drain work and $117,694 for park acquisition and improvement.