SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : Pay Hikes Granted City, Water Workers

Granting 3% salary raises to nearly all city employees, the City Council on Tuesday adopted changes in job qualifications for about 100 positions in city hall and in the Capistrano Valley Water District.

The changes in most cases resulted in upgrading job requirements, with a corresponding increase in salary level that did not cause any employees to lose pay, Assistant City Manager George Scarborough explained.

City job descriptions are reviewed every five years for accuracy and are updated to incorporate additional duties and responsibilities performed by the employee, Scarborough said.

The first version of revised job descriptions was presented to city employees three months ago and 33 descriptions were challenged in an appeal process. The contested positions were amended according to the employees’ testimony, Scarborough said.

The city employs 80 people and the water district, whose board of directors is the City Council, employs 23 people.