Town Considers Employee Raises

Mount Pleasant is set to give roughly 550 town employees a 2.5 percent pay boost in July 2013 worth about $600,000.

The pay-for-performance raise rewards employees who were judged to be "meeting expectations" in their yearly reviews, according Charlie Potts, the town's chief financial officer. This step in pay replaces previous cost-of-living increases.

Eight employees will receive a 3 percent raise. Those individuals were evaluated to be "exceeding expectations" in their annual evaluations. Another seven employees who were judged as not meeting expectations will receive no pay increase.

The town's human resource committee approved the pay increases Monday. The full council votes the proposal next week.

Employees will notice the pay boost in their July 2013 pay checks. Town employees received a Christmas bonus in December 2012, but raises in the years prior have been sporadic as the town experienced cutbacks associated with the nationwide economic recession.

Here's a quick look at raises and bonuses for the town:

• No cost-of-living increase for four years from 2008 until July 2012;
• Three percent cost-of-living raises were awarded in July 2012;
• Select town employees received a 3 percent merit raise in 2011, but the raises were not applicable in 2012 or in 2009 and 2010;
• Christmas bonuses began in 2007 at $250 per employee, were increased to $400 in 2009 and were increased to $1,000 in 2010.